


Derek, the true Alpha

by herilaveur



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23963188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herilaveur/pseuds/herilaveur
Summary: End of season 1 modified: Derek becomes a true Alpha in order to save Stiles from Peter's clutches. And Stiles ends up with glowing green eyes and a weird superpower...What if it's all connected?
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 101
Kudos: 257





	1. the color of your eyes

''Go away, Stiles, get out of there now. That's him, that's the Alpha. Just go. Get out now."

There you go, now it's clear, those will be the last words he ever hears from Derek. Because Stiles knows he's gonna die now. On the one hand, that damn Alpha is standing in front of him as Uncle Peter. He looks downright creepy, and it's not because of those scars. It's more like a happy psychopath hovering in his face. And on the other hand, there's his nurse, who looks the same creepy-looking nurse in her face. 

''That means I'm going to die. I'm gonna die," moans Stiles.

His sentence is barely finished when Derek elbows the nurse in the face.

"That's mean," Peter says, "that was my nurse."

''She was an awful psycho who helped you kill people. Stiles, go away."

Stiles nods, but he doesn't have time to move as Peter's hand wraps around his neck.

''He's not going anywhere. This stunted kid is actually smart enough to join my pack. He'd be a perfect brain."

Derek grunts, but the only effect it has is to make Peter squeeze his hand around Stiles' throat a little tighter. 

"Drop it," Derek growls as his eyes turn blue. As always, his canines and ears stretch first, then his face. He makes a nasty growl as he comes closer to a step.

''He's just a kid, he knows too much and he talks too much.''

''I never talk too much,'' Stiles defends himself. ''I'm not a kid and it's not my fault you just dropped your blanket. What do you think I'm gonna do? So tell the sheriff that a man in a coma for six years is actually an ugly werewolf who kills everything in his path just for fun? Do you think anybody's gonna believe me?"

The hand tightens around Stiles' whimpering neck again.

"Shut up," Peter commands, shaking it.

''Okay. I was just saying facts. I'm sure you can see in my heart it's the truth and you have no reason to kill me. And I would never obey you even if you made me your beta, and you know it. So just let me go and then Derek can beat the crap out of you."

"I'm the Alpha" scolded Peter, turning into "Derek can't do anything to me."

He throws Stiles against the hallway wall before he lunges at Derek who orders Stiles to leave while countering Peter's blows. Stiles gets up as best he can and heads up the corridor towards the exit when he's lifted off the ground. And it makes him feel like he doesn't weigh more than a feather.

''You stay.'' And then he scolds Peter as he lifts him over his head. 

A muffled rumble comes from across the hall and Stiles turns his head to see Derek covered in wounds as he stands up. He makes some kind of animal roar that stops Peter in his tracks. Stiles blinks twice to make sure he sees what he thinks he sees. And yes, Derek's eyes are really red. 

"Let go of him.''

Peter seems hesitant, whispers a "real Alpha" and then throws Stiles at Derek before jumping out the window and running away. 

Stiles doesn't know how long he stays put. He feels like his body's been through the washing machine, top speed. He's lying on Derek's chest holding him close and he just wants to pass out. But Derek's moving slowly and grunting. 

"We gotta get out of here.''

And Stiles knows he's right. But he can't move. Even breathing seems hard. Derek puts him in a chair, then helps him to his feet, supports him as best he can, and they get to the car without being seen. 

Stiles is barely in the car when he feels Derek's hand around his wrist. He tries to remove it, but Derek holds it firmly.

''I'll take your pain away, just let it go.''

"No," stops him, Stiles. "Peter hurt you and you're not curing. Don't take my pain away.''

Stiles gives him the blackest look he can and weirdly it seems to work because Derek jumps up and takes his hand away like it's burning him. 

''Stiles. Fuck.''

''Derek Hale swears, we're gonna see the whole thing tonight. Could you just take me home so I can pass out on my bed?''

Derek grabs his chin to make him look at it and then shakes his head.

''Your eyes. They were green.''

Stiles closes his eyes and sighs. He gets out of Derek's grasp, opens the sun visor, and looks into his eyes. And, of course, they're their usual color. Brown, uninteresting. 

''I have brown eyes, which is the most normal color, and you know it. Now drive me home, please.''

Derek looks at him frowning and then shakes his head and starts the car, grumbling. Stiles rests his head against the car window. He's in so much pain, he could fall asleep to Derek's roar. He's never normally funny, but now it's like he's purposely growling inside just to annoy Stiles and give him an even bigger headache. 

"We've got to go see Deaton," Derek says as he turns around. 

Stiles opens his eyes with a moan. 

"Take me home.''

Derek takes a quick look at him before he turns back to the road.

''Your eyes have turned green, Stiles. I've never seen that before.''

''Hey! Your eyes have turned red and I'm not making a big deal out of it.''

Derek puts on the brakes and pulls the car over to the side of the road. He almost rips off the rearview mirror to turn it towards him. The blue reflection in Derek's eyes in the mirror almost blinds Stiles. 

''I swear to God, they were red before.''

Derek gives Stiles a black look before he drives away. 

''We're going to Deaton's. We gotta figure out what's happening to us.''

Stiles is almost asleep when the car comes to a stop. Derek almost carries him out of the car and Deaton opens the door for them before they even get close. 

''I've been waiting for you. Come on in.''

Stiles slumps into one of the seats. He just wants to go home and sleep so his body can heal in peace. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees Peter grab him and throw him like he weighs nothing and it's like his whole body hurts even more. 

''How did you know we were coming?'' Derek gets angry. 

He's pacing around the room, taking turns watching either Deaton or Stiles. 

''I felt it, Derek. I don't know what's going on, but I knew I had to stay here tonight. And then I heard your car. What happened?''

Derek sighed and kept walking back and forth across the small room.

''It's Peter. The Alpha. But we found out too late and Stiles was already in his clutches.''

Deaton looks at Stiles and shakes his head. 

"Why didn't he kill him? If Peter's the Alpha, why he spared Stiles?''

Stiles starts giggling in spite of himself. 

''Spared? Spared? Really? I can barely stand up. I feel like I'm broken. Do I look like I'm being spared?''

"Your tongue's still fine," Deaton says as he looks up at the sky.

''He didn't want to spare me anyway. He threw me at Derek when Derek's eyes turned red."

Stiles doesn't miss Deaton's wide-eyed eyes and the way he restrains himself from wobbling when he puts his hand on the examination table.

''A real alpha.'' Deaton whispers as he looks at Derek.

''Why? Why in front of Peter? Why only now?" Derek gets angry.

''What's a real Alpha? Does that mean there are fake ones?They already have eyes of a different color, and now I find out there are real ones and fake ones?"

''A real Alpha'' explains Deaton ''is a werewolf who becomes an Alpha just by his will, without having to kill one. It's extremely rare." He turns to Derek, "Your mother was one. Why? I don't have the answer. Why now? Often the transformation occurs when the beta is in a situation beyond his control. A situation where the wolf has the upper hand over man."

Derek grunts inside and Deaton nods.

''Your wolf is asserting himself, Derek.''

Stiles stands up in his chair looking at Derek and then Deaton.

''What? Does that mean he's gonna get even wilder than before? Cause that's already a bad enough gift. He wanted me to cut off his fucking arm with a fucking dog saw. He looks like he's gonna kill us with every look, I wouldn't count the number of times he's smashed me into a wall and you're saying his wolf's gonna take over?"

Deaton takes an amused smile as he turns to Stiles.

"You look like you're in a lot less pain, don't you?"

Stiles tries to stand up but collapses in the chair. And Derek comes up to him and grabs his wrist. Derek's veins turn black almost immediately. But Derek looks like he's about to faint, and the wounds Peter inflicted on him start bleeding again.

"Stop Derek, let go of me," Stiles asks as he tries to remove his arm. 

But just like in the car, Derek holds his grip tight and continues to suck out the pain.

"I said Stop!" Stiles screams as he gets up. 

Derek immediately steps back and so does Deaton. 

''Deaton, tell me you see them.'' Derek asks, pointing at Stiles on the head.

Deaton nods his head gently and Stiles rushes towards an aluminum dish to see his reflection in it. And his eyes glow emerald green. He blinks and his eyes are brown again.

''Holy shit. What the fuck was that?"

''I've never seen that before'' says Deaton ''I've got to do some research. I'll call some people I know. I've never heard of green eyes before. I've never even heard of colored eyes in a human."

Stiles points his finger at Derek. 

''What did you do to me? It's you. I know it's you."

He takes one step and he goes into the deepest black hole.


	2. The colour of your fur

When he comes to his senses, he's in bed. Stiles tries to get up but stops right away because his head really hurts. 

''Let me help you, please.''

Stiles jumps up and groans and turns to the corner of his room where Derek's standing in the shadows.

''Derek Hale asks nicely for permission to do something? I still have to sleep."

''You weren't sleeping, you passed out.'' says Derek ''and if I ask your permission, it's only because Deaton said you shouldn't have your eyes changed colours until we find out why you have green eyes. And since it happened every time you got angry because I was trying to take away your pain, yes I'm asking. But you stink of pain. It's unbearable."

Stiles moans as he sits up and puts his back against the head of the bed.

''I was angry because you were taking my pain when you couldn't heal, which is totally idiotic. And if my smell bothers you, you didn't have to stay.''

Derek looks up at the sky before frowning at Stiles as he walks towards him. 

''You passed out. You look dead, Stiles. Because of me. I never should have let you go to Peter. Then just let me help you. For once, just do what you're told."

Stiles reaches out his arm to Derek who sits next to him before he wraps his hand around his wrist and takes the pain away. Derek looks down into Stiles' eyes, and it's really creepy. He doesn't even blink. And even though he knows Derek just wants to see if his eyes change colour, it makes Stiles extremely uncomfortable.

''Relax, Stiles, I'm not gonna do anything to you.'' Derek grunts.

Stiles is rolling his eyes. Obviously, Derek can feel all of his emotions. 

''Sorry. It's just when you look at me like that. Not that I care or that I'm thinking about anything. But it's just... I'm not used to you looking at me like that. I used to you looking at me like _I want to kill you._ "

''Oh, but I assure you, I want to kill you. Especially if you don't shut up. I just want to see if your eyes change colour. Green. Nobody's eyes are green. It had to be you. Of course it had to be you."

Stiles is sitting up properly without breaking eye contact.

''What do you mean of course ? What am I me?"

"A hyperactive teenager with a huge sarcastic's tendency." Derek replies with a slight smile.

''That's all I have to defend myself. I don't have claws or fangs or super muscles to defend myself with. Sarcasm is all I have. And, yes, I'm hyperactive. You think I take my meds just for the fun of it? But that's just the way I am and I deal with it. So, yeah, I know it's hard for other people, but it's not like I'm doing it on purpose. It's not easy for me either."

Derek gently lets go of Stiles' wrist with a sigh and runs his hand through his hair, clearly indicating nervousness. Stiles doesn't need a super sense of smell to know that. 

''I don't get it. I thought if you got angry, your eyes would change colours, but nothing. I don't get it."

Stiles looks up at the sky and folds his arm over his chest. 

''Thank you. And stop trying to make my eyes change colour. Deaton said to wait. Do you want me to kill you or what? It just so happens that green stuff is killing me from the inside and you're trying to piss it off. Do you want me to die?"

Derek looks at Stiles like he's an idiot kid, and Stiles just wants to kill him.

"If that thing wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. And that goes for me, too. I just wanted to try and figure out what your problem is before Peter came back."

Stiles lies back in bed and pulls the blanket over his shoulders while his back is turned to Derek.

''My philosophy is to ignore the problem until I'm completely rid of it. So thank you for the pain. Don't forget to lock the door behind you, okay? See you next full moon, man."

He hears a plaintive growl and then his window slams shut. At the same time, his door opens and his father comes and sits down next to him.

''Are you okay, son? I heard a noise."

Stiles pulls the blanket up over his face, hoping his dad won't notice the bruises on his face.

''I had a nightmare. Nothing to worry about. Good night, Dad."

His father gently lays his hand on his shoulder and Stiles does his best not to moan. He goes back to sleep trying to come up with a plan to explain to his dad about the bruises tomorrow. 

He doesn't see Derek after that. Scott tells him that Jackson followed him to Derek's house to ask him to transform him and how he went to let the two boys run away by giving in to the hunters. And Stiles doesn't understand. Why didn't Derek transform? If he was able to turn back that horrible Alpha-Peter, why didn't he fight that hunter?

He can't stop thinking about everything that happened that night. And he can't even explain why he didn't tell Scott. Neither Derek's red eyes... nor his green eyes. Deaton promised him he wouldn't tell anyone until he knew what was going on.

He should have told his best friend. But every time he tried, he made a joke or changed the subject to Allison. Because clearly, that's Scott's favorite subject now. And Stiles wonders if he was ever this annoying when he talked about lydia. 

Lydia... Stiles hasn't thought about how much he loves her in days. And now that he does, it's even weird. It's like his whole crush just evaporated. 

He looks at himself in the locker room mirror again and tries to get his eyes to change colors. He doesn't even know why he's trying to do that now. Lacrosse practice has been over for over half an hour, and Stiles can't move from in front of that mirror. He's concentrating, just like Derek explained to Scott. But nothing's changing. And then all of a sudden, he sees him behind him.

Derek.

Stiles blinks. He doesn't even see his green eyes in the reflection in the mirror, he just sees Derek, in front of the Hale house, like he's looking through a camera. And just like that, he knows. He blinks, and Peter appears next to Derek, startling Stiles.

He rushes out into the hallway.

"Stilinski!" Coach yells out, "Save your strength for running out onto the field."

"Yes, coach." Stiles screams back before he goes through the swing door. 

He rushes to his car where Scott's waiting for him while he kisses Allison. 

"Scott in the car, now."

Scott jumps out and gets in the car at the same time as Stiles. The doors are barely slammed when he starts to drive. And luckily his car starts on the first try for once. 

''You smell like a combination of anger, worry and eagerness, man. What's going on?"

''I know where he is. I know where Derek is. He's at home."

Scott puts his hand on Stiles. 

''I've been there a few times already, there's no one there.''

''He's there, Scott. I know he is. He's there. And so is Peter."

''Your clairvoyant powers would really be appreciated if they existed, Stiles.''

Stiles walks down the dirt road and takes a exasperated look at his best friend.

''I'm not forcing you to come with me, Scott. But I am. I have to go."

''If you're going, I'm going too, Stiles. You're my brother. So if you say we're going, we're going. But just don't be disappointed if they're not there."

''I won't be disappointed. Look."

Stiles shows Peter's silhouette creeping inside the crumbling house. And by the time Stiles stops his car, Derek's silhouette slips through the door of the house and onto the front porch. 

Scott immediately throws himself at Peter who grabs him by the arm and sends him flying against a tree, before returning to Derek who tries to get back on his feet. He gives him a scratch in his chest, and Derek runs down the steps to find himself lying on the dead leaves.

''I killed your old girlfriend. Dear Kate Argent got what she deserved. And now it's your turn, my dear nephew. I wanted you in my pack, but I can't afford to keep a real Alpha who could outshine me."

He raises his clawed hand over Derek's body and only stops when he hears Stiles scream and hit him with a baseball bat to the back of his head. 

He straightens up, laughs and grabs the baseball bat and throws it across the woods. 

"Stupid kid."

He grabs Stiles by the neck and bends over so he can look him in the eye. 

''I'm giving you a choice. Join my pack or die."

Stiles looks him straight in the eye and smiles.

''Death will surely be sweeter than a life at your side.''

Peter grunts and lifts Stiles by the neck. Stiles closes his eyes and thinks about his father. That's what makes him the saddest. Knowing that he's gonna leave his dad alone. He starts panting because Peter's hand is crushing his Adam's apple.

He reopens his eyes when he hears a terrifying scream. Peter drops him in one fell swoop and Stiles has just enough time to see a black wolf jumping over him to catch Peter. Not just a hairy werewolf. But a real wolf. A big, scary black wolf. 

Stiles painfully turns his head, knowing that Derek must be lying on his right, but all he can see is Scott, towards the tree, trying to get up by holding his stomach. 

Scott walks towards him and helps him to stand up so he can back up. But Stiles stops him when Peter's lifeless body falls to the ground. 

The huge black wolf with red eyes looks at them and starts growling meanly in their direction, pointing his fangs at them. 

"We gotta go," Scott says, pulling Stiles by the arm.

''No. I can't leave.'' Stiles explains and try to detach himself from Scott.

The wolf begins to howl, then grunts again as he approaches them.

''Stiles, we're leaving.'' Scott yells, pulling harder on his arm.

"I said no," shouts Stiles, turning to his best friend. 

Scott immediately release him, takes two steps back, bending his head down, and a plaintive grunt comes out of his chest.

Stiles has just enough time to perceive the reflection of his green eyes in the windows of the house that he turns to the wolf, who stops growling immediately. The wolf steps back twice and looks at the woods.

''No.'' Stiles says softly, ''You're going to be a good dog and stay here. There's no way I'm chasing you through the woods."

The wolf growls before he looks back at the woods again and runs off. 

"Derek, I said no," Stiles screams. 

And the wolf stops immediately. He turns to look at Stiles with terrifying red eyes but lies down on the ground with the same plaintive moan that Scott uttered just before. 

Stiles moves forward, despite Scott's cries for him to stay away, and he feels no fear despite the wolf's imposing size. He knows he's safe. The wolf's fur can barely be seen in the dark. The only thing Stiles can think of is at the beginning of the poem _"Black in Colour"_ that his mother used to read to him to calm his stuttering as a child. 

_I love black, real black._   
_Who lights up my stars_   
_And out of the shadows_   
_Like a dark animal_   
_Magic of a heart without a veil_   
_I like black._

He sits next to the wolf, gently puts his hand in the fur and then wraps his arms around the wolf, who lays his head on Stiles' lap. 

He knew it, he's safe.


	3. Your wonderful coffee

''What the hell?'' Scott asks as he joins him, obviously in a panic. ''Why did your eyes turn green? Why Derek is a wolf? And an Alpha? And why did you stop him? Why did you stop me? How did you do it?"

The wolf stands up and growls at Scott while positioning himself in front of Stiles.

"Hey, easy there, buddy." Stiles commands as he stands up. 

The wolf grunts at Stiles, but comes over to his side and pushes his thigh with his head. 

"OK." Stiles says, "Let's clean up and get out of here. If my dad finds two dead bodies in here, he'll be happy to put Derek back behind bars."

So he drives up to his jeep and opens the trunk and pulls out a shovel. Scott stops him by putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I think he's taking care of it himself."

Stiles watches as the wolf digs a hole in the side of the house, pulls Peter's lifeless body in and then closes it up and does the same with the body that was in the house. 

The two boys watch without moving until the wolf comes next to Stiles. Stiles opens his door and lifts up the front seat so he can get into the back seat and then nods his head towards the wolf.

"Come on, get in."

The wolf takes two steps back, showing his fangs.

''Oh, damn it, stop being such a mutt! It's getting dark. We're not spending the night here. Now, I just want to go home, so get in the fucking car, Derek. You're not staying here alone."

Stiles watches the wolf jump into the car and cross over to the passenger seat in the front seat. Stiles jumps when he meets the reflection of his green eyes in the Jeep window as Scott circles the car and and gets in the backseat bitching. 

"You see what I was saying," Scott continued, moving to the edge of the seat so he could be in the middle of the two front seats, "Why are your eyes green? Why aren't you panicking? What's going on, Stiles?"

Stiles is looking at his eyes in the rearview mirror. He blinks and smiles when his eyes turn brown again. It's not until they hit the paved road that he decides to respond to his best friend's annoyed whimper.

''I don't know, OK. I don't know. My eyes turned green like four or five times, but I don't know why. Derek's a real Alpha. Apparently it's rare, but sometimes a Beta can be transformed by the sheer power of his will. He started doing it the night Peter kicked our ass. Deaton wanted to do his research before we talked about it. But he never said he'd turn into a real wolf. But apparently he has."

Scott looks at him with wide eyes and shakes his head.

''That doesn't explain why I did what you told me. When you yelled at me. Your eyes turned green and I felt the same compulsion to obey as when I stood in front of Peter and he ordered me to kill you at night in high school."

Stiles takes a big, triumphant smile.

"Maybe I'm your Alpha."

''You're not even a werewolf, Stiles! I'd feel it if you were. And alphas have red eyes, not green. And why does he obey you too?" Scott asks, pointing to the black wolf, suspiciously.

"Because he's a good dog," laughed Stiles, reaching out to pet the wolf.

He barely removes his fingers before the wolf munches them.

"Naughty mutt." He turns to Scott "I'm gonna have to sign him up for dog training, I guess."

The wolf utters a howl that startled both boys.

''Okay. No more dog jokes. But you better not mess with my car otherwise I'll kill you myself, Derek."

"And what are you gonna do now?" Scott asks as Stiles pulls up in front of the Stilinski house. 

"Right now, I'm going to bed. And he's staying with me until he's back in human form and able to give us that killer look again and explain what's going on.''

''Why? Why would you want to keep him in your house? He's a wolf, Stiles. A really wolf!''

Stiles shrugs his shoulders as he slams the car door.

''Frankly, I don't know. I just know I have to, that's all. And no, it's not just a wolf. It's Derek. He's the one who helped you control yourself. The one who's saved your werewolf ass so many times and saved my life, too, like tonight.''

Stiles goes around the car, and the wolf leaps out, heading straight for the front door. Stiles thanks inwardly that his dad's on call tonight and he won't be home until tomorrow at 8am.

"Do you want me to stay with you?''

''No. I'm safe. Go ahead, Scott. You need to rest so you can heal. Your belly's still bleeding. And don't make me make you do what I say.''

''You can't,'' Scott laughs defiantly. 

Stiles looks him in the eye, inflates his chest and closes his eyes. And he knows just by the surprise on Scott's face that his eyes are green. 

''Go home, Scott.''

Scott's eyes turn orange, and he takes a step back, whimpering. Stiles can see that he's trying to resist, but he takes another step back.

''You're a pain in the ass, Stiles. I don't know what you're doing, but...''

Scott goes away grunting. 

Stiles lowers his head to the wolf and strokes the top of his head between his ears before he unlocks the door to the house and goes inside. He tosses his jacket and heads straight up the stairs to his room. He doesn't even have to turn around to know that the wolf is following him. 

''I really like this super power after all. I feel like I'm gonna love it with green eyes in front of Scott. I'm already picturing the picture: Scott, give me your sandwich. Scott get me a drink. Scott, stop talking about your girlfriend. Scott do my homework for me."

The wolf moans and Stiles smiles as he puts his paws on his ears. 

''Okay. I'm done. Anyway, I finally got a superpower myself. And I'd only use it to be a pain in the ass. It's gonna make my life so much fun from now on. Okay, you wait here. And don't search my room.''

The wolf moans again as Stiles disappears into the bathroom for a much-needed shower after all that. He comes back in his sweatpants and a shirt that's too big for him. He goes down to the kitchen, still followed by the wolf. 

''Do you want something to eat? Maybe you should think about changing back, huh?"

The wolf growls and shows him his teeth, but Stiles ignores him as he turns to the fridge. 

''Okay. What's so great about this? Does a wolf eat pizza? I had a piece... oh, dad. He's really impossible. I left him a plate of moussaka and he ate my pizza. He's just impossible. I really need to keep a closer eye on him."

He takes his head out of the fridge and shows the plate to the black wolf sitting behind him.

''Do you want some moussaka?''

The wolf growls backwards and Stiles looks up at the sky.

"I swear it's good. Okay, I'm eating moussaka. But why doesn't anyone like eggplant? I'll make you a steak."

Stiles takes a steak out of the fridge and puts it on the kitchen table. By the time he's done warming his plate and pulling out a frying pan, the meat has disappeared and the wolf is licking his lips. Stiles rests the pan in the drawer, calling himself an idiot on the inside. He grabs his plate from the microwave and heads into the living room. He throws the DVD he had stopped the day before and slumps down on the couch with his legs bent under him. 

The wolf makes a plaintive moan, but Stiles just waves him to the couch. And surprisingly, the wolf executes without any resistance this time.

''Come on, you're gonna love this. A little science fiction can't be worse than our reality. And I'm sure you already know that. Okay, just in case, let me get this straight. I only watched 20 minutes yesterday because my dad wanted to watch the match. So...the four protagonists went into space and there was an explosion. They woke up in a hospital and discovered they had powers. Johnny becomes a human torch; Susan suddenly becomes invisible; Richards can stretch like a rubber band and Ben becomes the Thing.

Stiles laughs as he looks at the wolf before pressing play.

''Actually, you're just like the Thing. Always grumpy, always upset. Oh, yeah, it's totally you."

The wolf grunts and Stiles starts laughing before he continues to eat while focusing on the movie. He looks at the wolf sitting on the couch next to him several times and runs his hand through his thick fur while he wonders why Derek doesn't return to human form and if he ever will. It's not that he already misses the unpleasant human, but he can't help wondering why he doesn't transform.

Once the movie is over, Stiles goes upstairs without a word, sure that the wolf will follow him. And he does. Stiles picks up his things from the bedroom before disappearing into the bathroom and then comes back in his pajamas and crawls into bed, getting as close to the edge as possible.

He looks up at the wolf lying on the floor of his room and looks up at the sky.

"Come on, Blackwolf," he says softly, tapping the edge of the bed. 

He stares at the wolf, which is not moving.

''Don't make me get my green eyes,'' he challenges Stiles. 

The wolf jumps on the bed and Stiles huddles up against the black fur before closing his eyes.

"Thanks for saving me, Sourwolf."

It's the ringing of his phone that wakes him up. He reaches out to grab it, but his hand only grabs a bare chest. He jumps out screaming, too high-pitched for a 17-year-old boy, when he realizes he's just touched someone. Someone naked, in bed. Then he remembers all last night. 

And Derek seems to be doing the same realization as he jumps out of Stiles' bed carrying the duvet with him to wrap it around his naked body. Stiles hadn't really thought about that detail. 

''You can take some clothes from my closet. And you can't complain about it being too small."

And he grabs his phone, and it starts ringing again. He picks it up before he looks at the caller. On a Saturday before 7:00, it can only be his best friend wanting to bring him more information.

''Deaton's got a lot of information for you. Bring your wolf, go to the vet's office. Hurry up."

Stiles doesn't have time to say that the said wolf has in fact reverted back to the unhappy human they know Scott hung up on. 

"He said"

''I heard'' grunts Derek as he puts on a shirt that's actually too small and really molds all those muscles.

''Great,'' moans Stiles as he falls back into bed with his arms open in a cross, ''Derek the killjoy has returned.'' 

He turns on his side and squares his arm underneath him to put his chin in the palm of his hand.

''Am I allowed to say what I like best when you're a wolf? And since when did you become a real wolf? Did you know that was gonna happen to you?"

Derek sighs, apparently looking for a pair of pants to put on. And Stiles can't stop smiling when his eyes fall on the superman boxer Derek borrowed from him. Scott gave them to him last Christmas. Stiles knows Derek took them because they were the last in the pile, but he can't stop smiling. Derek Hale's in his room in a tight t-shirt and superman boxer. He's wondering if he's still dreaming, and then he smiles when he thinks of Danny. Danny would love to be here right now. Even if it's just for eye candy. Derek's voice immediately cuts him off from his thoughts.

''It was the first time. I couldn't control it. My mother could. So could my sister. But I don't know how. And yesterday, I couldn't regain my human form. It's as if the wolf had complete control over me."

''What about me? Do I really have the power to control you?" Stiles asks, obviously very pleased with the situation, as he gets out of bed.

Stiles meets Derek, pulls out a pair of pants that he knows are too big for him and gives them to him and then he points to his bedroom door.

"Go make me some coffee."

Derek puts on the pants, frowns and looks at Stiles like he wants to kill him. The usual look he gives Stiles, actually.

"I said go make me some coffee" commands Stiles with more conviction.

Derek gives Stiles the black eye and slams him up against the wall.

''Go make your own coffee, silly. And don't order me around like that."

Stiles looks up at the sky and sighs.

''Shit.'' Stiles groans. ''I've lost my superpower. I swear to God, yesterday I could give you orders. You have to believe me. How else do you explain sleeping there?"

Derek drops him and backs off, looking even more pissed off than before.

''I haven't forgotten about Stiles. I remember everything that happened. But I just don't know how you got me to do what you told me. It was like you were my Alpha. Actually no, it was even stronger than that. The wolf in me had to obey you. Actually no, the wolf was happy to obey you and forced me to obey you. I don't get it. How do you do that?"

Stiles takes a shit-eating grin and raises his eyebrows.

''Maybe I'm a great wolf trainer. You were a really good doggie, you know. And very soft as a pillow."

Derek grunts and almost rips the door off Stiles' room when he opens it.

"Hurry up, we're going to Deaton's."

"What about my coffee?" Stiles yells as he gets dressed. 

He stops dead at the bottom of the stairs when he smells the smell of coffee filling the house. Derek's already standing in front of the door with a cup in his hand. 

Stiles puts on his shoes and jacket and follows Derek to his car. Derek takes the keys out of his pocket and Stiles taps his jacket pocket where his keys are usually kept. And of course, they're not there because they're in Derek's hands.

''You're not driving my car.'' Stiles stops him by slamming the driver's side door that Derek just opened.

Derek immediately slams it against the car and puts the coffee cup back in his hands.

''I'm driving, you're drinking your coffee and everybody's happy.''

Stiles looks Derek in the eyes before he puts them down over the coffee cup.

''One scratch on Roscoe and I'll kill you. Alpha or not, wolf or human, I'll kill you. Really."

Derek nods his head and gently pushes Stiles to open the door and slip behind the car. Stiles looks at him with a blak eyes before he goes around and gets in the passenger seat.

He looks at Derek, watching his every move, ready to hit him if he mistreats his car, but Derek does nothing of the sort. So Stiles relaxes and drinks his coffee. And surprisingly, his coffee is really tasty. It's like he's adding something to it. 

"So...Did you do it because I told you to?" Stiles finally asks.

Derek glares at him exasperated before he looks at the road again.

''Thank you so much for the coffee, Derek. It's so sweet, especially the way I asked for it."

Stiles rolls his eyes as he takes another sip.

''Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Thanks for the coffee, which, by the way, is really good. You'll have to tell me what you put in it. What'd you put in it? Is it 'cause I'm controlling you?"

"No one controls me," Derek scolded, squeezing the wheel a little tighter. "I just didn't want to hear you complain the whole way home that I deprived you of your morning coffee. So don't make me regret it, okay?"

Stiles looks at Derek, surprised, then nods his head.

''Okay. Thank you. He's perfect. So what do you put in it?"

"Sleeping pills, hoping it'll calm you down."

Stiles laughed out loud before he looked at Derek again and then looked at his coffee with a suspicious look on his face. 

''Just kidding, Stiles."

''Derek Hale uses humor! Becoming an Alpha has definitely changed you, man."

Derek turns the rearview mirror towards him and Stiles watches Derek's eyes turn red.

''Yeah, I think it's official now, you've mutated. Way to go, Superman."

Derek grunts and that makes Stiles smile. He opens the sun visor and squints, but nothing changes. He grunts and tries to get angry, but still nothing. 

So he spends the whole end of the trip trying to find his green eyes, to no avail.


	4. You know my name

They barely got out of the car when Scott pulled up beside them. Stiles sees his best friend's surprised face and clearly, he can't say anything to justify the situation. Scott has only driven Stiles' car twice, and only because Stiles couldn't do it. Stiles hates it when anyone drives his car. And Scott knows that. Everybody knows that.  
Stiles jumps out of the jeep and stands in front of the door of the vet's clinic before he looks Scott in the eye.

''Scott, open the door for me,'' Stiles commands.

Scott looks at him, closes his eyes and sighs.

''Come on, Stiles. You're not gonna order me around every time we meet, right? Your eyes aren't even green."

Stiles squints, concentrates, swells his chest and gets a sterner voice.

"I said open the door for me."

Scott shakes his head and gently pushes Stiles aside before turning to Derek in a questioning manner.

''He's been like this as of this morning,'' Derek says as he opens the clinic door. ''Good luck with the rest of the day. I've had my fill. 15 minutes with him and I'm overdosed."

''Oh no, I've lost the only power I had'' moans Stiles as he follows them around with his swinging arms ''for once I had something fun, it only lasted one night. I should have enjoyed it more. I really should have."

The clinic is empty, which is perfectly normal for a Saturday morning at 7:00. Deaton waves them into the small exam room. Stiles opens the mountain ash door, Derek behind him, but Deaton closes the mountain ash door in front of Scott.

''I'm sorry, Scott. I think I need to talk to them without you for start."

Scott frowns and then turns to Stiles looking disappointed. And even though he doesn't say anything, Stiles fully understands how he feels. They had no secrets from each other. Even after the whole werewolf thing. And stiles knows that his best friend is hurt that he didn't tell him about his green eyes. 

''No, it's okay,'' Stiles announces as he reopens the door "No secrets. It's my brother. We're all in this together, right? I guess my eyes are connected to all this werewolf stuff, magic and supernatural stuff."

Deaton turns to him with a funny look on his face.

''If you want. But don't complain if Scott bothers you about it afterwards."

"What's this all about, Deaton?" Derek asks impatiently. 

''I've called most of the people I know. No one had ever heard of green eyes before. Let alone a human being. But last night, Scott came in to treat his wounds from Peter and told me what happened. And it made me think of an old legend. I really thought it was impossible. But on the surface, you made it possible."

''And what is it?'' Stiles asks, moving his hands nervously. ''Oh my God, Derek was right, it's got to be me. The one unknown thing no Druid has ever encountered, it had to fall on me. Am I going to die? Did I catch something? Did Peter do this to me?"

Deaton beckons him to calm down and be quiet before he calmly resumes.

''Actually, he does. Peter was the trigger. It's all connected. Derek, your transformation started when Peter went after Stiles. And last night, you became a real Alpha when Peter was gonna kill Stiles. I think your trigger is Stiles. Your wolf knew that Stiles would've died if you hadn't fully transformed. So he took over without you being able to control him."

Stiles looks up at Derek, whose red eyes are glowing, and a dull moan comes from his chest. Derek looks like he's in the middle of an inner battle and finally closes his eyes as he leans against the wall behind him.

''What about my eyes? What's the legend?"

''The legend of the whisper wolf tells the story of a man, human, who had to be sacrificed to amplify magic. On the night of the sacrifice, a werewolf appeared out of nowhere and turned into a real wolf, ready to kill all the druids. But the man ordered the wolf not to kill anyone and the wolf obeyed and lay down at the man's feet. Legend has it that the druids spared the man's life and the wolf disappeared into the woods. The last sentence of the legend is _The wolf thus transformed took over the man and never could come back again unless his soul remained attached._ ''

Stiles pinches the bridge of his nose while Derek rubs his eyelids. 

"So?" Scott asks, visibly lost.

''Derek has become an Alpha to Stiles and Stiles has become something to control Derek's wolf.''

Stiles bursts out laughing as everyone turns to him. 

''I can't control anything. I've lost all power. My eyes are meaningless again. There's nothing supernatural about me, I can still make it through the mountain powder fences. And Derek hasn't turned for me. He turned to avenge his sister."

A plaintive moan can be heard from Derek's chest as he curls up on himself.

''Your wolf doesn't agree with your thoughts, Derek. He's fighting you from the inside."

''I know,'' complains Derek, ''but I don't know what he wants. Last night it's like I can't control him anymore. My anchor wasn't working. I can't risk letting him get the upper hand."

''So how did you change back?''

Derek shrugs his shoulders, taking a slight look at Stiles.

''I don't know. I woke up like this."

Deaton seems to be thinking, looks at Stiles and then turns back to Derek.

''When you woke up, were you near Stiles?'' 

Derek frowns and gives Deaton a black look that doesn't seem impressed at all. 

"Yeah," confirms Stiles, "he was in my bed."

"In your bed?" Scott groans, choking on his own saliva, "What the hell was he doing in your bed?" Scott crosses the room threatening Derek. "If you touch my buddy, I swear to God"

''It's me.'' Stiles yells, ''I made him sleep in my bed last night when he was a hairy wolf. And this morning, it was Derek in the flesh."

"But why?" Scott whimpers, "why would you want to sleep with a big, scary wolf in your bed?"

"I don't know," moans Stiles "I needed it. I... I don't know, okay? Now can we please stop talking about this, it's embarrassing enough as it is."

Silence falls over the exam room, and eventually it's even more awkward than waking up next to Derek.

''And how did you know Derek and Peter were at the Hale house?'' asks Deaton.

Stiles sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

''Same thing, I guess. I knew it. In fact, after practice, I couldn't move from in front of the locker room mirror. I'm not really sure why. I just knew I had to try to get my eyes to change colors. And then I saw Derek and Peter in front of the house, like I was watching a movie. Then I knew. I swear, I'm not crazy."

Deaton puts his hand on Stiles' shoulder, smiling.

''Nobody said that, Stiles. There are many supernatural things that we don't yet understand. But I've got a pretty good idea about you, and we're gonna do an experiment to confirm it. Why don't you go wait in the car, the boys will help me take everything away."

Stiles sighs and misses the keys that Derek throws him. He picks them up off the ground, grumbling. He slams the door of the clinic and gets in his car, happy to find some quiet.

But the silence is soon filled with a painful moan. Stiles looks around, but there's no one there. He feels something change in him and looks in the car mirror. His eyes glow green again. The moaning can be heard again and Stiles jumps out of the car and into the clinic. 

Derek is lying on the ground while Scott is on top of him, his eyes glowing orange and his claws fall on Derek's bloody chest and he doesn't seem to be able to defend himself. 

''Scott, stop it. Now!" Stiles yells. 

Scott's arm stops in the middle of his move, and he releases Derek, retreating headfirst with a groan of submission. 

"Amazing," Deaton exclaims as he joins them.

"What?" Stiles gets pissed off as he squats down beside Derek, "What's going on here?''

"Staged," Deaton says, "to prove my theory.''

Stiles shakes his head.

"No. Are you guys crazy? He almost died in a fight yesterday and you hurt him on purpose? For a theory? Couldn't it wait two days?"

''I'll get better'' says Derek. ''So Deaton? That theory?"

Deaton looks at Stiles then Derek and smiles. 

''I think you're connected. Attached.''

Scott bursts out laughing.

''Attached? Like soul mates?"

Stiles and Derek give each other a look of surprise before they pull away from each other. 

"Yes," confirms Deaton, "but it doesn't have to be love. The term soul mate is also appropriate in a platonic way. But anyway, that's not the point. I think Stiles was Derek's trigger because his wolf recognized him. And Stiles became Derek's anchor. I don't know why Stiles' eyes are turning green, but apparently it's doing it to keep Derek safe. And apparently, you can sense when Derek needs him. That's why you found him last night, and now you felt like he had to come back and help him.

''I just heard him moan. Anybody would've heard him." Stiles defends himself.

He's not missing Deaton's impressed face and Derek's rather astonished face.

''Stiles, Derek didn't moan.'' Scott explains. ''He didn't make a sound. At least we didn't hear anything and we were in the same room with him.''

Stiles lets his back slap against the wall behind him and he sighs as he digests all that information. 

''Then why am I able to control him? And control Scott?"

Deaton takes a big smile.

''I don't know yet. Stiles, you're going to be the hot topic among all the Druids. We didn't even know it was possible. But if you'd let Derek go yesterday, he probably never would have been able to regain his human form. And something inside you knew that and was strong enough to make Derek's wolf obey you. And remains the mystery of your eyes. And your abilities."

Stiles looks at Derek, and Derek looks back at him with the same lost gaze. Derek gets up, but Stiles sits back, suddenly feeling like his superpower is actually a curse.

"Unbelievable!" Scott says, "It's just unbelievable. And you thought your soul mate was Lydia."

Stiles looks at his best friend laughing and shrugs his shoulders, signalling that he doesn't care. And Scott notices him and gives his best friend a worried look. 

''Wait. Don't you care? You've been in love with Lydia like from the outset!"

Stiles shrugs his shoulders again.

''Actually. I think it was just a little crush. I think I'd rather just be his friend. And then she always made me realize that's what she preferred, too. I'm getting to wondering how I ever thought I had love's feelings for her."

Stiles doesn't miss Scott's open mouth or Deaton's surprised look.

"Have you been thinking that for a long time?" Deaton asked him as he rubbed his forehead.

Stiles shrugs his shoulders again.

''I don't know. I haven't really thought about my feelings for Lydia since..."

He leaps to his feet and turns to Derek, his mouth wide open, and hits him on the arm.

"Since the night at the convalescent home with Peter."

Stiles points his index finger at Derek, threatening him.

''I don't know what you did to me. I don't know if it was you or your wolf, but I wouldn't fall in love with you, Derek Hale."

Derek starts laughing nervously and slams Stiles up against the wall at the clinic.

''I didn't do anything. And I'm not in love with you either, Mieczyslaw Stilinski. I don't understand why my wolf decided to react to the most irritating teenager I've ever met, who I, myself, wanna kill 90% of the time."

Derek drops Stiles and heads for the clinic door grunting. 

"Derek?" calls him Stiles with a big smile.

He only gets an extra grunt in response, but he didn't expect anything else.

''If you wanted to kill me, just once, I'd be dead already.''

Derek turns around, giving a look that would make any normal human cry.

"Don't tempt me."


	5. and you know write it

"You and Derek?" says Scott again. 

They are sitting on Scott's bed and normally they should be working on their chemistry class, but Scott has been repeating the same thing for twenty minutes and Stiles just wants to kill him.

''I told you to stop it, Scott. There's nothing going on between us."

Scott looks at him like he's lying and shakes his head.

''Your souls are connected, Stiles. It's just weird. And I can't even imagine if you two were dating."

Stiles looks up to the sky. He doesn't even want to think about that possibility, it's just way too confusing. 

''He can barely stand me. And I can barely stand him as well. So don't worry, it's not gonna happen. Maybe I'm connected to his inner wolf. But the way he looks on the outside makes me so repulsed, it's just impossible."

Scott looks at him, really surprised.

''Don't you like guys? I thought you"

''That I'm bi. Oh, yes, I am. And yeah, his body is definitely a godsend. Are you gonna see those abs? Who wouldn't fall for those abs? And his back, perfectly muscular?"

"Me" laughs Scott.

''Yeah... of course. I wasn't talking about the straight guys. Danny couldn't agree with me more, I can tell you that. Anyway, I was talking about the way he is. Always on the defensive, always pushing me up against the walls. Never a smile, never a kind word, always withdrawn, always ready to kill everyone. Derek Hale, the real one, the only one.''

Stiles intercepts the amused gaze of his best friend. 

"What?''

"Your heart races as soon as you say his name.''

Stiles grunts and throws a pillow in Scott's face. His best friend laughs before he gets really serious again.

''Don't fall in love with him, Stiles. Please don't fall in love. You deserve so much better. Someone more... someone less... just not him.''

Stiles gets up, obviously upset, and grabs his stuff.

''Cause you choose who you fall in love with? Sir, I'm a werewolf dating a hunter's daughter?''

He doesn't give Scott time to respond that he slams the door and leaves the room and gets in his car with no destination in sight.

It is only when he stops in front of the Hale house that he realizes he was coming there. He is greeted by the huge black wolf that comes out of the house grunting. 

Stiles sits with his back against a tree and the wolf comes and lies down beside him.

''So, buddy, are you back to your hairy self? You're as lost as I am, aren't you? What are we going to do with all this?"

The wolf gently lifts Stiles' arm to slide his head underneath and places a paw on his thigh.

''Yeah. My mom used to love to say that : _Someday, somebody's gonna hold you so tight, they're gonna pick up all the broken pieces_."

Stiles lets himself slide until his head rests on the wolf's neck. 

And he closes his eyes.

When he opens them again, the sun is at its peak. And there are three werewolves standing in front of him with fangs sticking out, ready to pounce on him. The black wolf is gone, and Stiles would really like to know where he's. 

Stiles gets up and looks at the werewolves. He should've taken his baseball bat with him. It's not until he meets the yellow eyes of one of the werewolves that he feels the transformation at work in him. It's light. A kind of tingling that comes from his chest and fills his whole body. It's really light, but Stiles feels it. And he knows that when he opens his eyes, they're green. And the beta immediately turns back into a girl in his class: Erica. 

Stiles understands her change of style in high school these past few weeks. The two boys next to her become human again as well and Stiles immediately recognizes Boyd and Isaac. 

''We're looking for our new Alpha,'' Isaac explains.

''I'm your Alpha'' announces Derek as he walks down the steps of his house. And Stiles is really happy to see this black leather-jacketed figure. Derek shines his red eyes and the three teenagers look down ''I'll see you here tomorrow at nine o'clock for your first training session.''

The three teenagers nod and run away.

''Why did you leave me alone? They could have killed me! And don't tell me you didn't feel them coming.''

Derek takes an amused smile as he gets closer.

''I see you woke up in a good mood. I'm just following Deaton's instructions. I knew the Betas trained by Peter would come because I became their Alpha by killing him. Everyone Peter's turned will be drawn to me now. Deaton wanted me to find a way to prove you had power over my entire pack. And indeed, you do. It's like they recognized you. They never would have attacked you."

Stiles gets up and shakes the leaves off his butt and thighs before giving Derek an angry look.

''What if Deaton's theory is wrong? What if they attacked me?"

Derek is now inches away from him and puts one of his arms on the tree behind Stiles.

''I saved you from a terrible Alpha, Stiles. None of those Betas could have touched you before they got their arm ripped off."

A muffled rumble comes from Derek's chest and thoughtlessly, Stiles puts his hand on it to calm him down.

"Why is he growling like that?"

Derek closes his eyes and a second growl is heard.

''I don't know. He's trying to get the better of me."

''Is that what happened before? When I came in, you were already a wolf."

Derek steps back and runs his hand through his hair.

''I changed as soon as I got here. And I couldn't turn back into me. Until you fell asleep on top of me."

''Why do I always fall asleep on you?'' Stiles thinks out loud.

"Maybe because even my wolf would rather you asleep than awake?"

A growl is heard and Stiles laughs as he points to Derek's chest.

''I think he disagrees with you. I'm sure he loves to hear me talk."

Derek looks up at the sky and whispers, "Stiles, you talk in your sleep."

Stiles seems surprised by this information. If he talks in his sleep, why hasn't Scott ever mentioned it to him? He looks at Derek's face to see how much of it is true, then shrugs his shoulders. 

"Come on, Sourwolf, let's go home."

"I'm home," Derek says, pointing to the ruined house behind him.

''Oh no, you're coming home with me. I'm not leaving you alone until you get your shit under control. The full moon is tomorrow night. You must be feeling the effects already. You could hurt someone or yourself. Or you may never be able to become human again.''

"What if I hurt you?''

''I'll take the risk.'' Stiles says, standing as straight as he can with his hands on his hips.

"Why?''

"Because I don't have a choice, Derek. Something inside of me makes me want to do this. And since I don't understand what it is, I'd like you to stop asking questions and just be willing to do it because I just want to keep your werewolf ass safe.''

Stiles looks at the red eyes staring at him frowning. 

''Don't take your killer eyes with me,'' Stiles scolded.

"Then take your dominating eyes off" scolded Derek.

Stiles looks at the reflection of those eyes in his phone. He closes his eyes, reopens them, and his eyes are brown again. 

''Sorry. I'm not in control. Why don't you stop fighting me, and we'll save time? Come on, let's go home.''

And this time, Derek gets in the jeep without hesitation. If Stiles hears a satisfying moan from Derek's chest, for once he's not saying anything.

"Stiles, is that you?''

Stiles is startled as his dad joins him in the hallway. He turns around, but Derek's not behind him anymore. He's looking all around, but there's no sign of him.

''Are you okay, son? You looking for something?"

Stiles looks at his dad smiling and leans against the hallway wall.

''No. Nothing. Why? Do I look like I'm looking for something? No, not at all. I don't even know why you would think that."

Noah shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders.

''You always seem so intense, son. Just looking at you makes me tired. I'm going to bed. I'm working tonight after all. Will you be all right?"

''Of course, Dad. What do you think I'm gonna do? Take advantage of your absence to spend the evening with a super sexy person in my room?"

Noah moans, pinching his nose bridge.

''But why would you say something like that, son? Every other teenager would be talking about a party. Or a pizza party. Why do you have to let me picture you doing stuff in your room? And why one person? Why don't you just say "just a girl"?"

Stiles looks at his dad and then throws a big smile and puts his hand on his shoulder.

''Cause it wouldn't have to be a girl, Dad.''

Noah puts his hand on the hand that his son put on his shoulder. 

''Okay. Thank you for your honesty. I don't want to know anything until it's official. And you're only 17 years old, for God's sake, don't make it official now. Now I'm going to bed before I realize that my son just told me he's gay in the middle of our driveway when I come off a 14 hours shift and can barely keep my eyes open."

Stiles watches his dad walk up a few steps before he calls him.

"Dad?"

Noah stops and turns around, obviously really tired, and gives his son that look he knows so well : _what more could you say to torment me further?  
_

"Yes, son?"

''Actually, I'm bi. Just so you know... And I love you. Sleep tight."

Noah nods his head and smiles before he starts climbing again.

"I love you too, Stiles."

Stiles stays in the lobby and smiles for a few seconds. He jumps but doesn't scream when he comes into the kitchen. Derek's sitting around the table. Derek looks at him, raises an eyebrow, but says nothing. Stiles opens the fridge and pulls a dish of minced meat and mashed potatoes. He takes out two plates and he warms them up before he puts one in front of Derek.

"You don't have to do this for me," Derek says quietly, looking him in the eye.

"You're not gonna go without food" Stiles points out. "We're in this together. So we're gonna have to stick together, not fight. Even though most of the time I feel like ripping your head off. And I know you feel the same way, so don't worry."

Derek smiles a little bit before he devours what's on his plate. And that makes Stiles smile. He pulls out two chocolate mousse and waves Derek to follow him into the living room. 

"Why did you turn into a wolf this morning?" Stiles asks quietly, crossing his legs underneath him on the couch. 

Derek gives him a look of darkness, and Stiles knows exactly what he means : _I don't want to talk about it._

"Hey," moans Stiles as he licks his spoon, "We have to help each other. We have to try to figure out why your wolf is taking over your life."

Derek sighs and then slowly turns to Stiles. 

''I thought I'd be relieved. Peter killed everyone responsible for the fire. Now that Kate's dead, I thought I'd be relieved. But when I got to the front of the house, all I felt was grief. Just like I always do. No relief. And... I don't know. It was easier to let the wolf take over."

Stiles puts his empty jar of chocolate mousse on the living room's table before he looks at Derek again.

''Then why are you going back over there? If it's so painful for you?"

"Because it's my house," Derek moans, "it's all I have left of my family."

His eyes immediately turn red and his whole body groans loudly. Stiles immediately takes him in his arms and the growling stops.

''I'm sorry, you're right. But tell your wolf that if he wakes my dad, he's gonna end up with a bullet in his head. Especially if I have my arms around you like I do now."

Derek lets out a chuckle, and Stiles is stunned. This is clearly the first time Derek hasn't laughed at a sarcastic comment he's made himself or Stiles.

"So what do we do now" Stiles asks softly as he takes his arms off Derek's shoulders. 

Derek looks at him and shrugs his shoulders and smiles. 

"You might wanna start by wiping your mustache of chocolate."

Stiles runs his thumb over his lip before he smiles and eats the chocolate.

"You really do eat like a kid."

Stiles shortens the distance between them and runs his thumb across Derek's cheek before licking the chocolate he's just collected.

"You too, Wolfie."

Derek gives him a funny look before he wipes his cheek with his hand.

''I know, Laura used to say that all the time. But the worst was Cora. She was so nervous, she was always eating too fast and making big gestures. Kind of like you, actually."

Derek suddenly stops, and Stiles knows he must feel like he's said too much. And Stiles understands. He feels that way a lot when he talks about his mom.

''I don't know if you want to talk about it or if you just want to change the subject.'' Stiles ends up saying quietly ''so just tell me, there's no wrong answer.''

Derek stares at him, blinks, then looks at him again.

''Thank you. I... So, if it's Ok with you, tomorrow you come to practice with us and we'll see what you can do with your green eyes. And in the meantime, we'll do our research and see if we can find out any more info."

Stiles takes a big smile.

"So I'm in your pack now?"

Derek doesn't have time to answer that footsteps can be heard on the stairs. Stiles turns around to look at his dad for just 2 seconds. But that's enough time for Derek to be totally gone when he looks at the couch again. 

Noah comes over and sits where Derek was sitting and looks at the pots of foam on the table.

''Are you telling me to eat right and you're eating two pieces of chocolate mousse, Stiles?''

''Hey,'' Stiles defends himself. ''I'm a growing man. I need my strength. Do you wanna talk about my pizza slice that went missing yesterday?"

Noah smiles and puts his hand on his son's hand.

''I couldn't help but think back to what we were talking about before. You know I don't care as long as you're happy. Whether it's a girl or a boy. So I wonder if you're seeing someone. You know you can tell me anything, son."

Stiles smiles and shakes his father's hand in return.

''I know, Dad. And no, I'm not seeing anyone. But don't worry, if this were the case, you'd be the last to know. Nobody wants to be threatened by the sheriff's gun. Do you think I'd be dumb enough to tell you so you could scare him off?"

Noah laughs and patted his son on the back twice.

"You will be the death of me, my son."

''And I am the reason you get up in the morning.''

Noah gets up on the couch and laughs.

''The worst part is that it's true.''

''I know'' laughs Stiles before he gets up and goes up to his room. 

This time he didn't jump, he knew Derek would be in his room before he even opened the door. It's like he could smell it. Not with a great sense of smell, but more like resentment. 

And it turns out he's right. Derek is sitting in Stiles' chair nervously typing on his computer.

"Hey," complains to Stiles, whispering, "How did you get my password?"

Derek looks at him with a shrug and a smile on his face.

''Too easy, Stiles. Even for you."

Stiles shakes his head and crosses his arms in front of his chest, showing that he's waiting for a real answer. 

''How do you know how to spell it? Even Scott can't spell it right."

Derek smiles a crap-eating grin, and Stiles is forced to smile back at him. He's never seen Derek'smiling like this before. To tell you the truth, he didn't even think Derek could smile like that.

''I've got my sources.'' says Derek before he gets out of the chair, giving way to Stiles ''Come on, let's see what we can find out about green-eyed humans and real alphas. You're the one doing the research. You're really better at this than I am."

Stiles settles down in front of his computer, then turns to Derek.

"And what do you do?"

Derek thinks and then smiles. Really. A real smile that reflects right back into his eyes. And Stiles thinks he could easily get used to it.

"Best coffee in the world?"

Stiles turns to his computer with smiling. Could he have fallen into a parallel world where Derek is funny and nice and sweet?

Is it the wolf? The Alpha? Or was Derek always like that and hiding behind a hard shell?

Stiles looks at him again out of the corner of his eye and smiles because he already knows the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so you get it. I'm making some changes to the way certain characters appear.  
> So Peter had started gathering a pack of teenagers, because they're more easily submissive to their Alpha. Now that Derek's killed their Alpha, all these betas are subservient to him.  
> So he bit Isaac, Boyd and Erica (and other characters that will be coming soon).


	6. Be able to calm your wolf

After an afternoon of research and two sets of absolutely delicious coffee, for which Derek doesn't want to admit what he adds to it to make it taste so good, they come to the same conclusions as Deaton :They're connected by something, but they don't really know what it is, what it's doing to Stiles or why. 

''I don't understand : why me?'' Stiles finally asks without taking his eyes off the computer. 

A dull moan can be heard behind him and he turns around to see Derek standing, behing his door, eyes closed, his face tense. And the moaning coming from his chest doesn't seem to want to stop, just like the other night in the car.

Stiles hears his father's footsteps in the hallway and instinctively looks at the time. His dad's about to leave for his shift. What he means he's coming to his room to check on him. And Derek seems frozen in place, struggling inside and growling in spite of himself. 

''I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. Shh, calm down."

Derek opens his eyes, and even though he's not looking at Stiles, Stiles can see they're red. Of course they're red. Stiles is starting to freak out. If Derek transforms now, he can't let him go for fear he's gonna hurt someone, and he certainly can't explain to his dad why there's a black wolf in his room. If Stiles rushes out of his room, his dad's gonna figure out he's hiding something. And he doesn't know how to change his eyes to tell Derek to stop that inner whine. And his dad must no see his green eyes.

''Stiles? What's that sound? Did you adopt a dog or something? Oh, my God, I'm gonna kill you."

Stiles jumps out of his seat and opens his bedroom door so that Derek would be hiding behind. His right hand drops the doorknob and grabs Derek's hand. The rumbling stops immediately. 

''What? It's just my cell phone vibrating. Are you going to work, Dad? See you tomorrow."

Noah looks up to the sky.

''Are you hiding something, son? Looks like you're hiding something. Or someone?"

Stiles looks up to the sky in turn.

''Oh, Daddy! I was just kidding. You know I like to make you grow old prematurely. But I was kidding. I'm not hiding anyone here. It's just me, alone. I'm alone."

The moan resumes in Derek's chest, and Stiles squeezes his hand a little harder before gently stroking the top with his thumb. And luckily, he stop it. Stiles feels like he's found the inner wolf switch.

''It's my cell phone, Dad. When it vibrates on the bedside table, it makes this weird noise. I'm afraid of dogs, and you know it."

Stiles opens his door a little bit more, showing his phone on the bedside table and pushes Derek further into the space behind the door without letting go of his hand.

His dad steps forward, quickly sweeps the room with his eyes before smiling awkwardly.

''Sorry, son. It's not like you're gonna hide someone under your bed or in your closet or behind your door. Stop making your old man think up the worst-case scenarios. Sleep tight. Don't do anything foolish if Scott comes. See you in the morning."

Stiles is about to close the door, but Derek's hand is clutching his. He doesn't have time to wonder why he's doing this when the answer's rushing through his mind.

''Actually, I'm going to practice with Scott tomorrow morning at 9:00. We have the game coming up. So I'll see you in the afternoon."

''Okay. That way I might be able to get some sleep without you complete in the way of my poor, tired mind. See you tomorrow."

Stiles slowly closes his bedroom door and leaning on it. He's waiting for the front door to slam before he lets go of Derek's hand.

''What was that, noisy-wolf? Do you really want my dad to kill you? Need I remind you he's got a gun strapped to his belt and he's already got you locked up. Even if you're acquitted, if he finds you in his son's room, he won't hesitate for a second."

Derek lowered his visibly embarrassed head before he took the hundred steps into Stiles' room.

''I'm sorry. I haven't been like this since"

"Since?" Stiles pushes him.

''Ever since I was a kid. I was born a werewolf. I've always kept my wolf part together with my human part. As long as we're children, the wolf is there, but stay calm. It's only in adolescence that the wolf tries to take over and we must learn to anchor and calm it down. I had a lot of trouble doing that so Peter helped me with a talisman. I had to squeeze it in my hand and repeat our mantra."

"What was your mantra?" Stiles asked, sitting in the middle of the bed. 

Derek looks at him, and Stiles wonders why he looks so surprised that Stiles asks the question.

''We're rehearsing the different kinds of wolves. Alpha. Beta. Omega."

Stiles nods his head and smiles.

"I bet there was nothing magical about the talisman."

Derek gives him that dark look that he's so good at, and it makes Stiles smile.

"How do you know?" Derek finally asks.

Stiles bursts out laughing and lets his arms rest on either side of his body, letting his head fall carelessly back.

''When I was a kid, I used to stutter a lot. Actually, it was due to my hyperactivity, but we didn't know that yet. My mother used to force me to read poems to teach me to read quietly. My father gave me a sheriff's star. Before I speak, I had to count the branches of the star, breathe and then speak. Between each word, I had to start again. Finally, I realized that the star was useless. He could have told me that counting to six in my head. But having that star in my hand gave me something to lean on. To anchor myself. Like you."

Derek sits in the desk chair and smiles. 

''I really thought the talisman was magical. Until I heard my mother tell Peter that he had to tell me the truth so I wouldn't panic if I lost it. When I think about how old I was when I found out, I'm really ashamed."

Stiles nods with a smile.

''One day I lost the star. I cried so hard, Scott drew it on the palm of my hand. And I hadn't stuttered in a long time."

Derek gets up, lifts up his shirt and turns around, exposing his tattoo. 

''It was this symbol on the talisman. A triskel. To remind us that we can change ranks at any time. Become a beta, an omega, or an alpha. Nothing is ever taken for granted."

Stiles moves on his bed, placing his hands in front of him to steady himself. 

''And you were already a noisy-wolf, at that time?''

Derek puts his hand on his chest as if on reflex and shakes his head.

''No. Sometimes my wolf would make himself heard. But never like that. Never so loud. And he never tried to get the upper hand like that. Earlier, I had a hard time not transforming. It's really exhausting, it's like I'm in a fight with myself."

''Just because I asked the question? I was just wondering why me."

Derek's waving at him to shut up and closing his eyes, his face is all tense.

''Yeah, I think so.'' Derek blows between loud breaths. ''It hurts him when you talk like that. And when you're reminded that you almost died or were hurt. It's like he can't handle it and he wants to get the better of me so he can be next to you. That's why physical contact calms him down, I guess."

Stiles looks at Derek, who's tensing up painfully.

''Let him come, Derek. Let it. Don't fight it."

Derek opens his vermilion eyes. Stiles sees his own eyes turn green in return.

''I swear everything's gonna be okay. Just trust yourself. I'm safe."

Stiles watches Derek fall from his chair on all fours to the floor. Next thing he see, it's the black wolf in the middle of his room, showing Stiles his fangs.

"Stop it with that." Stiles laughs "we both know you're not gonna do anything to me. Just because you look like a ferocious beast doesn't mean you are. The wolf has a reputation as a wild and dangerous animal, but we both know it's a protective and loyal animal. You're not a killer, Derek, and I'm not afraid of you."

The wolf stops immediately and Stiles glances at his mirror, but to his surprise, they're just brown. Stiles starts laughing at himself while the wolf looks at him with his head tilted.

''Actually, I was more scared of Derek the human than I was of Derek the wolf. Come on, buddy, come here.''

He's patting the bed next to him as he lies down and the wolf lies down, sticking his nose in Stiles' laughing neck.

''You're tickling me, silly. Take all the time you need, but I know you can go back. When you're ready."

Stiles makes an amused moan, gets up and rummages through his closet to put some clothes on the bedside table before he lies down.

''You're gonna have to get in the habit of getting undressed first, or it's gonna cost you a lot of money in clothes. You'll be happy to know I've got some great Batman boxers for you. I know you like superheroes."

Stiles laughing, lies down and breathing in the wolf's fur. Oddly enough, the smell makes him feel good. It's like coming home after a long absence. He closes his eyes as he continues to stroke the black fur. 

''I'm not sleeping, so please warn me before you changes back. I just wish it wouldn't be too awkward."

The wolf gives him a slight headbutt and Stiles smiles without opening his eyes. He doesn't understand why he's so fine, but he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Stiles isn't sure how long he stays like that with his eyes closed against the wolf. He doesn't even want to open his eyes to look at the time. Eventually the wolf pushes him down and gets out of bed. Stiles keeps his eyes closed until Derek's voice pulls him out of his trance.

"I thought you weren't asleep?"

''I'm not sleeping, I'm just giving you some privacy. Forgive me for being civilized and not taking advantage of the situation to ogle you. Not that I'm interested, by the way." Stiles coughs when he sits back down on the bed. "Okay. Okay. Well... Let's go get something to eat."

Stiles gets up and finds himself face to face with Derek, all dressed up and smiling.

''Thank you, Stiles. I, um... I think it felt good. You know, you were right. I think it's calming me down inside."

Stiles smiles and taps Derek on the shoulder.

"But I'm always right, Der. I don't even see why you would doubt it."

Derek clears his shoulder with a growl. 

''Come on, now let's go eat,'' says Stiles, ''I'm starving. I'm sure you can cook us something delicious, Batman."

Derek looks up in exasperation but goes down to the kitchen the first and opens the fridge to pull out several ingredients. Stiles sits on the counter and watches him do it.

''Do you think if I learned how to use my powers, I could use them whenever I wanted to use them against you or the other members of your pack? Or do you think it has to do with your safety?"

Derek raises his head and shrugs his shoulders.

''How do you want me to know. Didn't quite work out the other day when you wanted your coffee or with Scott. And I'm not sure the point of all this is to turn you against the pack to get what you want."

Stiles laughs as he grabs a piece of cheese before Derek hits his hand.

''I don't know. And then, finally, I had my coffee."

Derek looks up at the sky before he gives him with a exasperated look.

''Yeah. Don't make me regret this. It wasn't your powers at all. Your eyes weren't even green."

''I know. But ever since, it's different, I can feel when my eyes change color. It's like there was something tingling in my skin from my chest."

"Like it was irradiating you?" Derek asks, putting down his knife and turning to Stiles.

''Yeah! That's it." Stiles confirms, jumping off the counter to pull out two plates, "How do you know?"

"That's what it does to a werewolf when he changes his eyes."

Derek turns around and surprises Stiles with his vermilion eyes. Stiles immediately feels the tingle running through him. 

Derek shortens the distance between the two of them and looks him in the eye before returning to his normal eyes. Stiles blinks and he knows they're brown again. 

Without a word, Derek walks away, pulls a frying pan out of the drawer and hands it to Stiles. As he pulls some ground meat out of the fridge, he looks at him again with his red eyes. And Stiles' eyes turn green immediately.

"Are you gonna do this all night?" annoys Stiles as he takes the meat tray from him.

"Your eyes are reacting to mine, it's just crazy."

Derek gets his gray/green eyes back, and Stiles knows his eyes are back to normal. Stiles puts the meat on the stove and sits down on the counter.

''I don't understand why this is working now. I've seen your red eyes several times and yet it didn't change mine. Like in my bedroom when my dad was here. Or at Deaton's. Or..."

He turns to Derek who keeps tapping him on the shoulder like a hysterical kid who wants to say something. And of course Derek's eyes are red and Stiles' eyes react, causing Stiles to growl exasperated.

''Oh... I didn't think you could be that annoying. Why are you doing this? Normally I'm the annoying one, and you're the grunting one. Why would you want to turn things around?"

Derek giggles before he blinks, reverting to his natural color.

''My eyes were red for two minutes, Stiles. Actually, it only works if we really look at each other. In your bedroom or at Deaton's, you saw my red eyes, but we weren't looking at each other."

Stiles grabs the pita breads from the oven and fills them up before he puts them on the plates and heads into the living room. He sits on the couch with his legs tucked under him and puts his plate in his lap. 

''Well, what do you think? Do you think you're some kind of a light switch?"

And Derek swallows his bite with a shrug.

"It works both ways, Stiles. This morning when you yelled at me to get in your car, your eyes turned green and I couldn't control mine. Maybe if you focus on the tingling, you can get your eyes to change on command."

Stiles puts down his pita and looks Derek in the eye, but he knows nothing's going on. And he can't help but be frustrated.

''Well, don't worry. We're just testing theories, that's all. Maybe you'll be able to do that someday, or maybe it's just impossible. Maybe it's not quite like us after all. But don't worry, we'll find out what you are. And then if we don't, we'll do exactly what an astronomer does when he discovers a star, we'll create a new page in the bestiary by writing _This is a Stiles_.''

Stiles bursts out laughing. He doesn't even know if he should take it as a compliment or not, but he doesn't want to ask. _Never ask a question when you're not sure you want to know the answer._

His cell phone starts vibrating in his pocket. It's Scott who wants to know what he's doing tonight. Stiles isn't answering Scott's messages all night. Anyway, he'll see him in the morning. 

And even though he didn't think it was possible until a few weeks ago, Stiles spends his evening watching the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer with Derek.

And if they fall asleep together on the couch, no one's there to see it.


	7. You make silence pleasant

And indeed, when Stiles pulls up in front of the Hale house at 9:00 a.m., Scott is sitting on the front steps. Isaac, Boyd, and Erica are waiting by a tree at the edge of the woods. 

Stiles takes one last look at Derek before they get out of the car.

''Remember, trust yourself. Your wolf isn't evil."

Derek nods his head before they get out of the car and slam the door.

''Hey, easy on my car, it's fragile!'' rattles Stiles as he closes the door.

Derek gives him a not-really-so-sorry look before he turns to the four betas. Scott immediately comes over to give Stiles a hug, and Stiles slaps him twice on the back, their code for everything's okay with each other. 

They learn that Peter bit Erica while she was having a seizure outside her house; Boyd while he was alone when he was working at the rink at night and Isaac was bitten while running around town in the middle of the night to escape his father's beatings.

Stiles' heart tightens a little when he hears this. He knows it's happening. He's often heard the police code for domestic violence. And he knows that his father's already been to the Lahey house for that. But he can't understand how a father can be violent towards his son. 

''And where do you live now, Isaac?''

Isaac shrugs his shoulders.

''Mostly in high school. Sometimes in empty houses. I get by."

Derek looks up at the house behind him and nods as if he's just made a decision. And a happy moan is heard. 

''I'm gonna fix this house up, and every member of the pack will have their place. Isaac, this is gonna be your home. Just like all of you."

Stiles looks at Derek wide-eyed before he looks at the house. It's clear from the size of him, there's plenty of room for everyone. But he never thought Derek would want to make room in his house for noisy teenagers. And Stiles can't help but be a little disappointed that he's not a werewolf, just to make room here, too. 

''Now, practice. Transform."

Stiles sits on the front steps and watches all the werewolves challenge each other. And he feels like he's in Twilight. He's still gonna have to think about asking Derek whether or not vampires really exist.

Derek teaches them how to easily knock an opponent down and how to try to protect themselves when the opponent is too strong. He tells them how to speed up their recovery or what to do in case of poisoning or a silver bullet.

Erica is clearly the fastest in the group, while Boyd is the strongest. Isaac seems lost in his acquisitions, but Stiles thinks he'll be the most loyal. And Scott... he can't really judge him because he's his best friend. But Stiles knows that he'll probably be the first one to stand up to Derek. 

A few times, Derek's eyes light up Stiles' and he tries to stop his friends, but it doesn't work, and he gets frustrated. Boyd wants to be nice and even pretends it works, but he plays so badly that everyone notices him and Stiles bursts out laughing.

"OK, we'll stop" Derek says when the sun reaches its peak, "You've all earned a pizza. I'll be back in 15 minutes. He who hasn't healed doesn't eat."

Derek almost jumps in the Camaro as the four werewolves come to sit next to Stiles.

''I don't know if it's the fact that he's an Alpha, but he's really more relaxed now. He'd even be nice," Scott says, "but if you tell him I said that, I'll disown you for life."

Stiles laughed. He's talking to Isaac while Scott talks lacrosse with Boyd, assuring him that he'd make the team. And Stiles smiles cause he was saying the exact same thing to Isaac.

''And until this old place gets fixed, I'd really like you to come home. My dad will be happy to help you. I know he's been to your house a few times because of complaints from the neighbors. We have a guest room that's never used... because clearly,all of our acquaintances live in beacon hills. So you're coming home with me later, okay? Don't think about it. The only answer is yes, okay?.''

Stiles isn't missing Isaac's open mouth and amazed eyes. Clearly, Isaac's not used to being taken care of. And Stiles is gonna change that. The pack's gonna change that. 

''I... okay... thank you, Stiles. I'll help, I promise. I'll be discreet.''

Stiles starts laughing.

''Do you have any idea what I'm like on a daily basis? My dad's going to think you're so quiet compared to me, he's going to want to adopt you.''

Isaac nods with a smile and then looks at his wounds, which are almost healed. Suddenly, the four werewolves get up and look towards the forest. Stiles doesn't have time to ask what's going on when a huge werewolf walks towards them. He has a huge scar in the middle of his face.

And before Stiles is up, Erica runs towards the werewolf. But no matter how fast she runs, she gets clawed off and lands on a rock. 

Isaac and Scott immediately jumped on the werewolf and almost knocked him down, but the werewolf eventually regained the upper hand, clawing Scott's torso and throwing Isaac against a tree. 

Boyd jumps on the werewolf's back and the werewolf growls, while Isaac, Erika and Scott jump on him again and manage to hold him down. 

Stiles catches the werewolf's eye and immediately freezes. Already because his eyes aren't the same colour. He has one blue eye and one yellow eye. And mostly because he knows.

He closes his eyes and when he opens them again, he knows that his eyes are green. He felt it. 

''Drop it!'' commanded Stiles, causing a plaintive whimper from the four werewolves who are clearly acting against their will.

The werewolf took the opportunity to run to Stiles. But Stiles doesn't move. 

"Stop it!" shouts Stiles as he looks into the werewolf's eyes.

The werewolf makes a whimpering moan and two identical boys fall to the ground in front of them.

''They're part of the pack,'' Stiles explains. ''Tie them up, but don't hurt them. They can't control themselves. Derek will help them.''

Stiles hears the Camaro coming and looks up to the sky. Derek's really coming after the battle. But Stiles knows he must have sensed him because he gets out of the car when it's barely parked and runs home, turning into a wolf in the process. And Stiles can't help but think that he'll never see his Batman boxer again.

Derek immediately growls at the twins who are now tied around two front trees and come to land next to Stiles. The wolf's shoulder rests on Stiles' thigh and he puts his hand between the two erect ears.

''What the hell is that?'' Erica screams as she leaves the house with more chains on. 

''Don't worry, it's just Derek.'' Stiles explains.

The wolf turns to her and she seems relieved.

''OK. He could've warned us that he was really turning into a wolf ? I mean, we're gonna be able to do that? I don't know if I think it's cool and I want to do it or if it just scares me.''

All eyes are on Stiles, who's shrugging his shoulders.

''Hey, I don't know. I don't even know what I am yet. So don't ask too much of me. Why don't you go get the pizzas from the car? I'm really hungry. And untie the twins now that they've calmed down so they can eat with us. They can't anchor, but they're part of the pack. I guess Peter bit 'em.''

''How do you know?'' asks Isaac.

Stiles shrugs his shoulders and pouting.

''I don't know. I do know. Right, guys?" Stiles asks as he approaches them to let them out.

''I'm Ethan and this is Aiden,'' said the yellow-eyed boy softly. ''Peter changed us two weeks ago. This is our first full moon. Sorry I tried to kill you, the urge was just too strong."

"Why is your brother with blue eyes?" asks Erica.

''Cause I killed a motherfucker that was picking on my brother. I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to hit him. But I was so angry that when I hit him, I didn't see my claws came out. And my eyes turned blue."

''So you two can transform without each other?'' Stiles concludes.

''Yes,'' confirms Ethan ''but Peter told us our whole strength lies in being a voltwolf : two werewolves rolled into one, and then powerful. He said that's why he wanted identical twins in his pack."

''I see. Don't do that when a full moon is near," Stiles said as he approached them. "If you're more powerful together, you also lose more humanity and it's harder for you to anchor and not listen to your werewolf instincts. That's what Peter wanted, but it's certainly not what we want."

''And what are you?'' asks Aiden, frowning, ''You're not a werewolf.''

"Certainly not" laughs Stiles. "OK, no offence. But I'm just human. I'm not part of the pack. Not really."

"A human doesn't have green eyes," Ethan says smiling, "and he can't stop us with one look."

''Yeah, we don't know why that is yet. But we'll figure it out. And we're trying to figure it out."

Eventually Derek came into the house and returned in human form before sitting on the front steps next to Stiles. And while they're eating pizza, they're making the plan for tonight's full moon. 

  
As soon as he walks through the door, Stiles knows that he and Isaac are coming right on the good time. 5:00 p.m. : the time his dad is having a snack after his little nap. The time of day when he's most receptive.

''Hi, Dad.''

''Hi, son. And. Isaac Lahey? Wow, you've really grown up good.''

"Thank you, sir.''

"Oh, no sir" laughs Noah before he looks at Stiles and then Isaac again. "Wait, unless.'' His face lights up and he turns to his son, "Is that why you talked to me yesterday, son?''

''What? No'' moans Stiles embarrassed. ''No. Isaac's just a friend. But... a friend who needs a place to stay. He can't go home to his father and you know why. So I suggested our guest room. Might as well be good for something.''

''It's just temporary. And I'll be discreet," promises Isaac.

The sheriff runs his hand through his hair and sighs.

''I'm not saying no. I'd love to help you, kid. And I'm really proud that you want to help your friends, Stiles. But Isaac's a minor. I can't take him in without his father's consent. So let me just finish my coffee, and we'll go to his house. Is that okay with you, Isaac?''

Stiles watches Isaac's face decompose, but to his amazement, he nods.

"I'll be with you the whole time," Noah promises.

"Me, too." Stiles promises, smiling at him. 

Stiles didn't think he'd be in so much pain if he went with Isaac. Stiles' heart really hurt to see the way Mr. Lahey treats his son. Everything in the house screamed mistreatment. And the only thing Mr. Lahey managed to say before he slammed the door was _"good riddance''_.

Stiles shakes his head thinking about it. He's really gonna do everything he can to make Isaac feel at home here. Stiles can't stop thinking about it while he's lying on his bed : His new roommate, the pack, the bond, his powers... the truth is, he can't sleep. He misses sleeping with his black wolf. He should have stayed with them despite Derek and Scott's protests. 

Knowing that Derek is chained up in the basement of the Hale house with the twins doesn't make Stiles feel any better. Even though Scott, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica are with them to check on them if anything goes wrong. Derek said he'd rather do that than risk hurting anyone, but Stiles is certain that even if the wolf had gotten the better of Derek, he could have ordered him to calm down. And he's certain that he wouldn't hurt him. 

His dad's not here tonight, like every full moon night, because they need everyone they can get at the station. Because it's always the full moon nights when there's the most calls.

Stiles is looking at his phone. 1H34... He grabs his phone and goes down to the kitchen to get something to eat to pass the time.

He rummages through the cake cupboard, so caught up in his thoughts that he only sees the silhouette behind him at the last moment.

He tries not to panic, thinking about the likelihood that it's one of his friends, but blue eyes stare at him and Stiles knows. He knows it's not Aïden. He knows it's not someone in Derek's pack. He closes his eyes and when he opens them again, his green eyes are reflected in the stainless steel fridge.

"Stop!" Stiles orders.

The werewolf laughs as he walks up to him.

"I said stop," shouts Stiles with more conviction. 

The werewolf grabs him by the jacket and propels him against the kitchen table. Stiles doesn't even have time to fully regain consciousness that the werewolf grabs him by the arm and pulls him back to his feet before he bends over towards him, all fangs out. 

''Stop.'' Stiles yells one last time before he closes his eyes. 

A growl rips the air right behind them and Stiles feels himself falling as the black wolf enters the kitchen. He jumps on the werewolf, bites his legs to make him fall to the ground, and drags him by the arm and carries him off into the dark night.

Stiles gets up with the help of one of the chairs and slams the door. He goes up to his room as fast as he can without thinking about the pain and grabs his baseball bat.

The house is silent and Stiles hates it. He feels like the floor is cracking all over the place. He feels like he can hear footsteps in every room. When his bedroom door opens, he hits the silhouette with a big baseball bat and then screams and throws the bat across the room while crouching down. 

But before he can speak, Derek looks up and down at him and lets out a sigh of relief.

''Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I should've been there with you."

Stiles opens his eyes and gently caresses the wound on Derek's head, which is already starting to heal.

''Are you kidding me? I'm the one who's sorry. You saved me from his clutches, and now I'm knocking you out."

Derek gets up smiling and Stiles does the same thing.

''It was just one hit with the bat, Stiles. I've been through worse than that. I should have even known you'd do it. And look, I'm healing. Are you sure you're okay?''

And Stiles sits down on his bed and sighs.

''I'm fine. Who the hell was that? And how did you know? How did you even get here? And where did you get his clothes?"

Derek looks down at his pants and smiles.

''I gave Isaac a bag full of my stuff to keep in his room. I was sure I'd need it at some point. The werewolf that attacked you, it was an omega. He must have been attracted to the scent I left here. When a werewolf becomes an Alpha, the Omegas try to kill him to gain his power and win his pack. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt like I had to be here. Wait, let me help you."

Derek comes and sits on the bed next to Stiles and gently grabs his wrist to ease his pain. 

''Anyway, we've learned one thing,'' Stiles rejoices. ''I can't control all the werewolves. Apparently I can only control the ones in your pack."

Derek closes his eyes, sighs and then lets go of Stiles' wrist as he looks up at the sky.

"A werewolf comes to your house and attacks you, and you're happy you couldn't control him?"

''I'm also happy that there's nothing damaged in the house. It would have been very tiresome to come up with a plausible explanation for my father."

Stiles gets up and walks to his wall where he usually pins his father's unsolved cases. He picks up a poster and it reveals a collection of post-it notes, summarizing every moment his eyes changed colour and every thing he was able to do. He takes a post-it on his desk and notes _Unable to control werewolves outside the Hale Pack_ and pins it between _Able to make any member of the Hale Pack obey_ and _Unable to make them obey on command._

''I'm glad we know a little bit more about what I can and can't do. And then you saved me, again. I'm so glad I have a personal guard dog."

Derek uses his forearm to pin Stiles up against the wall while looking at him with a black stare, which totally takes Stiles by surprise. And he sees on Derek's face that he feels his fear because he lets go of him immediately.

''OK. Sorry. I said no more dog jokes. I stop it."

Derek looks up to the sky and sits on Stiles' bed and grunts.

''I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry. It's..."

''I know, it's small. And barely funny, sorry."

''No. That's how the hunters talk about us. Like dogs. Like rabid dogs. When I was a kid, it was so terrifying. We just wanted to be kids like everybody else, not rabid animals to be bitten. I hate this."

Stiles sits gently on the bed and puts his hand on Derek's. He takes it off as soon as Derek looks at him with one look, a mixture of _I'm gonna kill you_ and _I don't want your pity._

''I'm sorry. I was being silly. You're certainly not a rabid dog. When you're a wolf, you're so gentle, it makes you wonder if you can be mean."

Derek looks Stiles with a exasperated stare.

"I just killed a werewolf by biting his limbs off with my teeth and you doubt I can be mean?"

Stiles shakes his head, chasing the thought of the wolf dismembering the werewolf. 

''It's called self-defence. Okay, normally it doesn't involve teeth and dismemberment but rather a weapon. But that doesn't make you a wild beast, sourwolf."

Derek sighs and drops himself on Stiles' bed. He lies down the width of the bed, not the length, but Stiles makes no comment and lies down the same way.

''Isaac just got home,'' says Derek softly, ''he's telling Scott I'm here. Apparently they weren't even worried."

Stiles turns around slowly so he can look at Derek.

''Everyone knows you're not a wild animal, Derek. See, even though your wolf takes over on a full moon, he's a good guy. All he wants to do is look out for me. In fact, you're like a guardian angel."

Derek smiles slightly before he looks up at the ceiling again. 

"He says good night and thank you."

"Who, your wolf?"

Derek lets out a chuckle before he looks at Stiles.

"No, silly. Isaac. I feel what my wolf feels, but he doesn't talk."

Stiles puts his hands under his head and smiles.

And they just lie there next to each other, staring silently at the ceiling.

Stiles usually hates silence. It's something he's actually pretty scared of. When you're in a room full of noise, you're rarely surprised. But when it's quiet, even the smallest noise can be scary.   
And anyway, between his constant talking, his never-ending thoughts, and the police radio that's always on, Stiles doesn't often meet with silence. So when it happens, he finds it awkward. Weak.

But not there.

This night, lying on his bed next to Derek, staring at the ceiling, he finds the silence pleasurable.

_Sometimes we don't need to talk. We just need to be together in silence._

That's never been truer than it is right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you go. Peter had bitten Aiden and Ethan. In my fic, they're not omegas, they're Betas and are now part of the Hale pack.  
> And in my story, if an omega kills an alpha, it becomes the alpha. And it works for real alphas, too.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who takes the time to write me a little comment, it makes me really happy every time!


	8. You look out for me

''You're never going to believe what happened last night.'' 

Stiles and Isaac turn to Scott, who's just met them outside the school. Stiles thinks back to the werewolf that attacked him, to Derek-the-wolf are coming in, and then to the fact that he fell asleep next to Derek-the-human, lying across the bed. Although eventually, Stiles woke up under his blanket, with no sign of Derek around. And Isaac didn't mention it at all this morning, much to Stiles' relief.

"No what?''

Scott puts his arm around his shoulders, and then he winces.

''First, Derek's already out of the shackles, but you already know that. He told us to set up shop at the basement entrance behind the reinforced door. But then Ethan told us, so we went into the basement. Derek's chains were broken and he was gone. We couldn't find out which way he'd gone out. But Isaac told us he was in your house. And I can smell him on you, so I guess you slept with your furry pillow again?"

Stiles nods his head trying not to blush and looks at his friend who looks half panicked, half excited.

"Hang in there," Scott warns, stamping his feet "we've been attacked by some kind of giant lizard with a tail. When it touched us, we froze. It was scary. The beast tried to get into the basement, but Boyd came back faster than we did, and he managed to touch it with the tranquilliser darts. And the beast got away. We looked everywhere for it, but we couldn't find it."

Stiles stops and pulls Scott's arm to make him stop, too.

"If it was so scary, why do you look so excited?"

''Because it was the first supernatural beast I've seen outside of werewolves. And I think I'm still under the influence of the fear hormones."

''Oddly enough, I'm glad I wasn't there to see it,'' says Isaac before he greets them and heads inside the building.

Stiles thinks and then nods. 

''It's called adrenaline. And clearly, you're full of it. Try and save some for the lacrosse practice."

''OK. Tell your wolf to join us after practice, we need to talk to him about this lizard."

Stiles looks up to the sky.

''It's not my wolf. But OK, I'll tell him to meet us after training."

Scott looks at him intrigued.

''How do you do it? Did you figure out how to talk to him through your bond? Do you think he can access all your thoughts? How does that work?"

Stiles giggles and pulls out his cell phone. He types a message, sends it and shows it to Scott. 

_To Derek - 7:57am / A giant lizard walks through the city and crippled your pack last night... meet us at 12:40 at the lacrosse field._

His cell phone immediately vibrates in his hand.

_From Derek - 7:58am / We have a huge problem. I'll be there._

Stiles looks disappointed in Scott, but he doesn't have time to make a comment than Scott waves to Allison who's coming to join them. It's not that Stiles doesn't enjoy watching his best friend kiss his girlfriend, but oddly enough, he still prefers to be ahead of time in classroom. And Scott doesn't even seem to notice that Stiles is gone. 

And like every Monday, classes move at an slow pace. It's a good thing that at 11:00, they have lacrosse practice. 

''Stilinski, on the field you play.'' yells the coach through the locker room door, ''and you better run as fast as you can on Friday!''

Stiles jumps off the bench and grabs his gear and makes himself all happy on the field. Coach is watching Boyd and Isaac, standing next to Scott. 

''Okay. We're trying. You better stand out. I got enough slackers on the team, right Greenberg."

Scott's punching Boyd and Isaac's fists together. Jackson moves in on Isaac and stares him up and down with a raised eyebrow.

''Lahey, huh? You're gonna have to eat more if you're gonna make it through this. You're even more pitiful than Stiles. And I didn't even think it was possible."

He looks at Boyd the same way and shrugs his shoulders.

''Careful, you know what the coach says: The bigger and fatter they are, the bigger and fatter they are. It's lacrosse, you gotta run... at least it'll give you some exercise."

And he jokingly leaves to join Danny, who's already warming up. 

''Don't listen to this jerk.'' Stiles explains ''I really don't see what Lydia sees in him. He's only pretty much livable when Danny's around. Otherwise, he's a total jerk."

Coach is whistling and everyone's gathering around him. 

''Okay. So we've got three new recruits, which is great considering some of the last few years have been focusing on academics and dropping out of lacrosse. So, Isaac, you take number 14, Boyd takes two, Ethan takes eight. Who's Ethan?"

Stiles sighs. Are they really going to create a team half-full of werewolves? He watches Ethan run up to the coach and grab the jersey. He glances happily into the stands and Stiles notices Aiden looking at his twin with his face closed. He really contrasts with Lydia sitting next to him, all smiles. Allison waves at Scott and Stiles wonders how a werewolf hunter can be such marshmallow sometimes.

''How long have you been coming to school?'' asks Isaac.

Ethan looks at him smiling before he puts on his jersey. 

''Since now. Actually yesterday, before the effects of the full moon got the better of us, we had time to chat with Derek and this morning he got us enrolled here. We lived about 200 miles away from here. Peter's really come a long way to find twins. So we're starting over."

''And you don't have any family to worry about? No parents?" Scott says.

Ethan shakes his head unemotionally.

''No. Foster care till we were 15, then we left and squatted wherever we could. Derek's letting us stay with him as long as we go back to school. And I couldn't wait to get back to school and sports. And his house is so huge.''

Scott lets out a chuckle before he puts his arm around Ethan's shoulders.

"Uh... you know he lives in a crumbling house?"

Ethan nods his head smugly.

''Yeah. He said that in a week the house would be ready to move in. We can wait a week. In the meantime, we're living in a hotel, which is pretty cool."

Stiles smiled as he watched his best friend's gawk-eyed face. 

''Wait? A week? You're really gonna live with him? Aren't you scared of it?"

Isaac laughs out loud behind Scott's back. 

"Afraid of what, Scott?" Isaac says, "He's our Alpha. We have blind faith in him. Don't you?"

Scott looks at him in amazement and then looks at Boyd, Ethan, even Aiden sitting in the bleachers nodding. Scott doesn't have to answer for everyone to know his answer. Anyway, Stiles already knew.

''In play! I want to see some action! If you're here to talk, the debate club is open. If not, move your asses out there, guys!"

Stiles watches his teammates and friends run across the field and stop every player trying to score. It looks so easy for them, but after twenty minutes he's really starting to have trouble keeping up. If he finds a druid who can explain to him why he has inherited green eyes, he will certainly complain, because he would have preferred his physical abilities to have been improved. Although if he were asked to choose between his present powers and an exceptional physical ability, he does not know what he would choose. Well, there's no need to lie to himself, he knows what he would choose...

He looks at Ethan, who stops Jackson by hitting him and then pulls him towards him by turning around so that Ethan is the one who falls to the ground and Jackson falls on top of him. And that makes Stiles smile. Even though a little hard blow to Jackson would have made him happy, it makes him feel better about what he was thinking: Ethan is really sweet and doesn't want to hurt anyone. He really is the sweetest of the pack.

Jackson gets up and violently pushes Ethan, giving him a hard blow to the arm. And Stiles immediately notices Aiden in the bleachers holding his arm. Like the twins are connected by physical pain. Luckily, it's not the same for him and Derek, otherwise he'd be in a lot of pain.

He's so lost in thought that he hasn't noticed that the game has resumed and he doesn't see Jackson running towards him until the last moment. Jackson hits him head-on and Stiles takes off from the ground. He doesn't touch the ground for what seems like a lifetime before he hits him hard. And he feels it. The tingling. He watches Scott crouching over him.

''Dude, your eyes. Change that. You can't stay like that."

''I know.'' Stiles groans as he closes his eyes. He opens them but nothing changes and he knows it.

"Stiles, stop it with that," Scott commands as all the players run towards him. 

Stiles stands up again with his eyes closed, signals that he's OK, then turns around. 

"'It's okay, Coach, he's okay" says Scott.

Isaac stands in front of Stiles and looks panicked.

''Your eyes!"

''I know!'' Stiles is pissed off. ''I know. I can't change him. I can't."

Stiles closes his eyes, shakes his head and opens his eyes again. And then he sees it. The black wolf. He comes out of the woods and approaches the field. He catches his eye, and the wolf stops immediately before retreating. 

Scott, Isaac, Boyd and Ethan turn towards the woods, and even Aiden who has risen from the bleachers but the wolf disappears into the forest. Stiles feels his helmet being ripped off and the coach looks up and down. 

''Stilinski, stop doing the aerial, this is a lacrosse court, not a tumbling gym. Jackson! Three laps around the field to calm you down! I want to see this with your opponents, not your teammates."

Jackson sighs and runs away. When he passes Stiles, he glares at him, and Stiles knows he's gonna be even more in his sights. 

At 12:30, all the players leave for the locker room while the six boys stay on the field before heading to the edge of the woods. And Derek is there, sitting on a rock, looking exasperated. He greets the boys before he gives Stiles his killer black look.

"Hey" Stiles whines, "What? What did I do?"

Derek ignores him completely and turns to the rest of the team, asking for a complete rundown on the creature they encountered last night. He finally sighs as he pulls a computer out of his bag.

''Okay. The Argent family has made a Bestiary. It brings together all the supernatural creatures. I stole it when Stiles started getting green eyes. But it didn't help me with that."

"Great," Stiles groans, "I've become the number one riddle for druids and hunters."

Derek looks up before he opens a file on _Werewolf._

"They've catalogued the various mutations that can occur after a wolf bite and"

"Wait," Scott stops him, "are there any different possible mutations?"

Derek nods his head without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Yeah. The ancients said that in some people, the bite brings out what's inside them. Was that what it was yesterday?"

Derek shows the screen to Scott and Boyd, and they nod. Stiles looks up and grinds. He has no desire to come face to face with that kind of creature.

"It's a kanima."

Derek shuts down the computer and sighs. 

"The documents are all in archaic Latin. We need to find someone who can translate it for us. Deaton doesn't know how to translate it and has never encountered this."

Stiles grabs Derek's computer.

''I know who can do it. I'll be right back."

He starts heading back to the school when Derek stops him with one hand on his shoulder.

''Wait, Stiles, are you sure about this person? You can't just ask any person. You have to be careful. You really have to be more careful. You're so..."

Derek makes an exasperated moan and Stiles frowns.

''So what? What did I do that was so reckless?"

"But everything" Derek complains "every day since we've been related, I feel like you're in danger. And when today I think you're gonna be quiet in high school, you're getting slaughtered on the field. You didn't even try to avoid it. It's like you're doing it on purpose. Every time I think I can control myself, you make me change and I turn back into a wolf."

"Hey'' Stiles cup him "it'sjust a practice run. So tell your wolf to calm down. I've been playing lacrosse for years and I'm finally on the field so I'm not gonna stop because you're afraid for me to get hurt. Now, you join your pack while I go see someone I trust. I'm not stupid, I wouldn't go asking any person. But it's good to see you think that about me, thank you very much."

Stiles turns around and walks away, clutching the computer under his arm when Derek's voice sounds.

"Wait, my screen's automatically locked, you'll need my code."

Stiles turns around and looks at him with a confident look on his face.

"Don't worry, I've got my sources. Give me ten minutes."

Stiles runs through the lacrosse field and heads for the table where Danny, Jackson, Allison and Lydia are eating. Jackson gives him a cold look while Danny smiles at him.

''Are you okay, Stiles? Not too bad, huh? Jackson was a little brutal earlier."

''I'm fine, Danny. Thanks for your concern." Stiles turns to Lydia and he smiles, "Lydia, I could use your help for just five minutes. Please."

''She's eating'' scolds Jackson as he gets closer to Lydia. Lydia looks at him and removes Jackson's arm around her waist.

''Don't decide for me, Jackson. I hate this. What do you want, Stiles?"

''Just a French translation. Can we go to the library?"

Lydia pushes her tray into the middle of the table and stands up without looking at Jackson. Stiles gives him a big smile and thanks him on the inside for helping to convince her. 

And that's how Stiles finds himself in front of Derek's computer trying different passwords...which doesn't work. Maybe he should have swallowed his pride and asked Derek for the code. But if Derek found his code, he might be able to find his own. They're connected, aren't they?

Stiles smiles and taps _triskel_ and the screen unlocks. He should have known all along. Derek is so predictable...

He turns the screen to Lydia, who squints.

"It's not French, it's archaic Latin," she points out.

''I know. So what, you don't understand it?"

Lydia looks at him like he's an idiot and sits down at the computer.

''Of course I do. Latin class was so boring. That's so weird, why do you wanna know what it says?"

Stiles pulls the chair out next to her and sits down.

''To make my little neighbor think it exists. I want to look believable. He loves old legends and fairy tales. So, what does it say?"

''Well, it explains what a kanima is. The Kanima is a werewolf whose transformation has gone awry because of personal demons from the past, causing it to mutate into a reptile-like form. The Kanima's claws and the tip of its tail contain a paralyzing venom. Its transformation is much slower than that of werewolves, and the subject who has contracted this mutation has no memory of what he does during his transformation. The kanima is not looking for a pack, but for a friend. Or a master."

Lydia looks up from the screen and turns to Stiles.

''I need to look up that word. I don't know if it's friend or master. But, you know, that pretty much sums it up."

She looks at Stiles before she gets closer and leans over to whisper in his ear. 

''You know I don't buy your neighbor story at all, right? I know that some people are different in Beacon Hills. I know some students here are different. So if I can help, let me know."

Stiles isn't even surprised. Lydia's way too smart for this town. He shuts down the computer and kisses Lydia's cheek before he gets up and almost runs away. 

''It's perfect, thank you very much, Lydia. You're the best."

He joins the pack in the forest. Erica's there and there's a stack of sandwiches in the middle of them. Stiles grabs a sandwich and tells everything Lydia just translated. 

''OK, I've got a plan,'' Stiles says. ''We find him, we hurt him and we should be able to find him in human form through the smell of his blood. Since Peter had decided to create a pack of teenagers, which I guess I didn't understand, but he must have had his reasons, I guess he or she must be in high school."

Derek seems to be thinking about all his information and turning to him.

''It's because a teenage beta is more likely to submit to his Alpha than an adult. OK, tonight I'll wait for the kanima. Maybe it's looking for me. A new Alpha attracts all kinds of creatures."

''What if he's looking for Stiles?'' Scott stops him. ''What if Stiles is the master of the kanima and that's why he has green eyes? What if it has nothing to do with your transformation but everything to do with the kanima?"

Stiles turns to Scott with an eyebrow raised, wondering if he heard right. And when he sees his best friend's confident face, he can't help but wonder why Scott seems to prefer the idea of Stiles being related to a crippling reptile to Derek. 

''And why would I be able to overpower Derek and his whole pack then?''

Scott shrugs his shoulders.

''I don't know. Maybe it gives you the power to control any werewolf."

Stiles shakes his head.

''No. An omega attacked me last night and I didn't have any power over him. If Derek hadn't come to help me, I'd be dead. Then no, my glowing eyes don't work on everyone."

Scott's giving Derek a furious black look.

''Do you realize you're putting him in danger? Do you realize everyone's gonna try to kill him just to get to you?"

Derek gets up and gives Scott the same look.

''Because you think I'm doing this on purpose?'' Derek gets mad ''and why are you letting him be part of a team of bullies in the lacross field? You couldn't even stop that smug little prick from hurting him. He could have really hurt him."

"Because I'm his protector?" Scott asks, standing up to Derek, "I thought you were his superhero? So do your job."

"And I thought you were his best friend and teammates? But maybe you're too busy waving at your hunter daughter to notice that your best friend is being violently hit?"

Stiles jumps up and grabs his bag before he looks at them both.

''You do realize I'm here, right?'' Stiles gets mad. ''If you knew me at all, you'd know that I hate arguments and I hate being talked about like I don't exist. That I'm not your property and I can decide for myself what I want to do. And the only thing I want to do right now is get away from both of you because you're both acting like possessive idiots."

He throws a sorry "hi" to the rest of the pack and leaves without looking back.


	9. The reassuring space of your arms

Stiles watches as his father chats with Ethan and Isaac before packing up and getting ready to leave for his night shift. It was decided that Ethan and Scott would spend the night with Stiles and Isaac ; while Boyd, Aiden and Erica would wait at Derek's house, hoping that he was the one the kanima was looking for. Derek also believes that by separating the twins, they will be more easily controllable.

''I'm sorry to leave you for the night again, son. But Oliver's sick, and no one wants to take his shift. But it comforts me to know that Isaac's here with you now. And Ethan's a really nice guy. It's nice to see you and Scott opening up your circle of friends. Melissa and I were worried that you and Scott were being too exclusive. And that you'd get possessive when one of you got into a relationship."

Stiles smiles as he puts his hand on her shoulder. If only his dad knew that the only possessive person here is the one who's in a relationship. But Stiles is certainly not gonna tell his dad about this with three werewolves who can listen to anything.

''It's okay, Dad. Don't worry about us. We're gonna work on our history presentation and we're gonna play video games. There's nothing weird on the schedule. Don't worry."

His father closes his eyes with a sigh.

"Why is it that when you tell me not to worry, I worry even more?"

Stiles rolls his eyes and giggles. 

''It's called an opposing mind, Dad. And I think the Stilinski' family have it better than most people."

His father sighs as he walks through the door of their house.

"Shall we order some pizza?" Scott asks, grabbing the phone. 

Stiles nods, but he already knows he's not gonna eat. He's not hungry. He's got a big lump in his stomach. And he knows what it is: worry. He hates Derek's plan. He wishes they'd both be there just in case. Now he regrets leaving like he did at lunch. But hearing Scott and Derek talk about him like he wasn't there and arguing about who was putting him in more danger, it was too much for him. 

While the three boys are talking about classes in Stiles' room, he quietly heads to the bathroom. He looks up at the moon shining in the sky. It's almost round, only a tiny piece is missing. He stares at the mirror, calling out his green eyes, but nothing happens. Damn it, why can't he still do it on command? 

When he comes back to his room, it's empty but the window is open. He bends down and sees two figures lying on the lawn. He doesn't have time to react until slime falls on his shoulder. He looks up and discovers the famous kanima crawling on his ceiling. And he's a lot scarier than in the picture. 

Stiles falls on the floor of his room, totally paralyzed from neck to toe and stares at the yellow snake eyes that are looking at him attentively. Despite the paralysis, he feels his eyes change colour. And the snake eyes are replaced by bright blue eyes. The kanima falls immediately beside him. Its face is positioned right above Stiles' face. And Stiles doesn't have an ounce of fear. He knows. 

A scream is heard, and the kanima's eyes revert to reptilian appearance. The black wolf comes out of his window and jumps on the whimpering kanima. Stiles tries to move, but he's completely paralyzed.

"Stop!" he shouts. 

He hears the wolf moaning, but he can't see if it's stopped or not.

"Stop," he orders again. "He's part of your pack."

Stiles sees the kanima jump over his body and run out the window. The wolf immediately huddles up to him and puts its snout in the back of his neck. 

And they're still in that position when the three boys come into Stiles' room. Ethan helps Stiles sit up and he feels like he's still in cotton wool.

''I'm really sorry'' says Ethan ''I didn't have time to react. I went downstairs to get the pizzas and I heard the guys yelling from the end. By the time I got to them, the kanima had already gone up to your room. I tried to help the guys, but I hit this gooey substance that paralyzed me, too. I'm sorry, Stiles. Are you okay?"

"It's all right, don't worry," Stiles promises as he lays his hand heavily on the wolf's black fur, "just have to wait a little while for my muscles to come back."

"No, you're not all right Stiles" says Scott angry before turning to the wolf. "Why didn't you kill him? You want him to go after Stiles again? And take back your human form, for God's sake. Stop hiding behind your scary wolf look."

The wolf growls and shows his teeth to Scott as he walks towards him. Scott crosses his arms over his chest but is forced to jump back when the wolf's teeth try to bite his leg off.

''But he'd really bite me on top of that,'' Scott gets angry. He turns angrily to Stiles as the wolf backs him to the bedroom door ''and you don't say anything? Why don't you stop him?"

Stiles looks at his best friend in amusement and then the wolf still growls at him. He meets the amused gaze of Isaac who's sitting next to him and Ethan who's by the window.

''You'd heal, Scott. Why don't you apologise to him for what you said. I only control him when it's really necessary. Like earlier when I told him not to kill the kanima."

Scott looks at the wolf, only more angry and he transforms.

"Scott no" commands Stiles as he stands up, feeling his eyes turn green, "stop this right now. No fighting in my room."

Scott groans in submission and becomes human again. A vexed human who sulks in the doorway while the wolf jumps out and lies on Stiles' bed. 

''The kanima is part of our pack,'' Stiles explains, ''it has reptile eyes. But when he met my green eyes, they turned into werewolf blue eyes. And I knew. Just like I knew about the twins. He's part of the Hale package. A great gift from Peter. Too bad we can't thank him for it."

''So I was right?'' says Scott, ''Maybe you're actually related to him, aren't you?''

Stiles turns thoughtlessly to the wolf on his bed. And everyone notices. Scott makes an exasperated whimper as he looks at Stiles. And Stiles is so happy that Boyd, Aiden, and Erica arrive just at that moment to cut this conversation short.

''We need to find the kanima and help him finish his transformation. Derek hurt it. Soak up the smell of its blood, and tomorrow whoever thinks they smell it in high school lets everyone know. He doesn't remember what he is, so don't scare him off."

All werewolves smell the bloodstain on the floor in Stiles' room before they go down to the kitchen to eat pizza. 

''Wait'' stops him Scott when Stiles was ready to come down the stairs ''Why would you rather be related to Derek than someone else? No one can be worse than Derek, right?"

Stiles looks up to the sky. 

"Oh, yeah. Imagine if it's Jackson."

Stiles laughs to himself. He can't imagine a worse scenario than seeing Jackson in the Hale pack. 

''Besides, I'd rather not, Scott. It's just the way it is, that's all. Might as well accept it. I'm just trying to do the best I can to make everybody okay. It ain't easy for nobody, Scott. But Derek's certainly not the bad guy. If you knew him better, you'd know that."

Stiles doesn't miss the angry look on his best friend's face.

''Cause you know him? Don't fall in love with him, Stiles. He doesn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve you. He's gonna hurt you. Everything around him is pain, can't you see it?"

Stiles feels bubbling inside of him and closes his eyes to focus on the emotional blending inside of him and try to calm down. He feels the tingling take hold of him, but it's more painful than the other times. More intense.

When he reopens his eyes, Scott is propelled through the hallway and crashes into the back wall. Isaac runs up the stairs immediately, followed by Aiden.

"Stiles, calm down."

Stiles can't focus on anything but the mean words of his best friend. How can his best friend say things like that? Stiles looks at him and Scott's up against the wall, like he's being held still by an invisible person.

"Stop it," Derek yells, bursting out of Isaac's room, standing between Stiles and Scott.

Derek's eyes turn red and he drapes Stiles with his arms and pulls him up against it. The sound of Scott falling to the floor is followed by absolute silence. All Stiles hears is his own beating heart. And knowing that everyone here can hear him is even worse. He tries to breathe calmly, but he can't. It's like his breathing gets blocked. 

He keeps his head up to look for air but nothing fills his lungs. His eyes are open but everything is blurry in front of him. It's all blurred. He pushes Derek and goes to the bathroom to turn on the cold water and splashes his face, but he just has time to catch up at the sink before he feels sick and sits against the wall.

"Stiles listens to me," Scott tells him, squatting down in front of him, "you're having another panic attack. Remember what we used to do? Count me in. How many branches on your father's star?"

Stiles tries to answer, but his wheezing hurts so much.

"Come on, Stiles, count with me."

He feels Scott drawing the star in the palm of his hand.

''1..2...3..''

Stiles is panting, he really needs to get some air. 

''Come on, Stiles. Don't stop there. Count back with me. One..."

''2...3...4...5...6''.

''One more time, Stiles.'' Scott orders, drawing a picture of the star with his finger.

And this time Stiles does it more easily before he brings his knees up towards him and puts his head in his hands. 

''I'm so sorry, Scott. I didn't mean to hurt you. I couldn't help myself. I just"

''Shhh'' stops him, Scott hugs him "I'm the one who's sorry. I was really mean. I took it too far. I think..."

Scott comes away from him and runs his hand through his hair nervously. He sighs, looks at Stiles, and then sighs again.

''I think I was jealous.''

Stiles looks up at him with a sarcastic eyebrow.

''No, you think?''

"Okay," Scott admits, "I'm jealous. I see you getting closer to him and it hurts. I thought we had a connection and I can see you moving away from me."

Stiles puts his hand on Scott's hand and smiles.

"Scott, you're my brother. I may have a supernatural bond with Derek, but I have a brotherly bond with you, idiot. You don't have to be jealous, you'll always be my brother. But don't make me choose. I'm not saying I wouldn't choose you. I'm just saying that something inside me doesn't want to choose because no matter who I choose, I'd be miserable.''

''I know, I'm really sorry. If you're in love with Derek, I'm gonna be okay with that."

Stiles sighs and puts his head in his hands.

"You know everyone can hear us, right?"

Scott smiles as he gets up.

''Probably, yeah. I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that other people have great hearing, too."

Stiles gets up and looks in the mirror.

''Anyway, I'm not in love with Derek. It's just this supernatural bond between us."

Scott looks at him desolate and Stiles nods his head, telling him to shut up. 

You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to a werewolf.

After that, all Stiles wants to do is crawl under his blanket and fall asleep. So Stiles crawls under his blanket and wraps it around him like he's in a cocoon. 

He hears footsteps in his room and is about to tell Scott to leave, but before he can talk, Ethan sits down next to him and puts his hand on his shoulder.

''Just so you know, except for me, they all left with Derek when you started talking to Scott. Aiden said he saw the kanima and they went after it."

Stiles sit in bed and watches Ethan look surprised. Ethan giggles before he nods his head.

''Yeah, he didn't see the kanima, it was just a diversion. I was sure you'd end up saying you're in love with Derek and you didn't want him to find out that way. So I asked Aiden to create a diversion."

Stiles sighs, tightening his blanket around his shoulders.

''I don't even know how I really feel. Or if I ever want him to know because clearly I'm out of his league. But thank you, though. You've saved me a lot of embarrassment. Can I ask you why you did it?"

Ethan looks at him like he's an idiot and Stiles realizes this is the third time he's gotten that look in less than a week.

''If I can give you a piece of advice, Stiles, don't make any assumptions : there's clearly no categories between you two. Just see the way he looks at you. And I did it because you're trying to make us feel good about ourselves, and you deserve to be taken care of. And also because I know what it's like to be in love with a guy that you shouldn't... and I wouldn't want him to find out that way."

Stiles realizes that his mouth only opens when he wants to talk.

''Oh. Cause you're... that's cool. Aren't you too sad you had to come to Beacon Hills then?"

"Oh, no. He's here. Actually, he's in high school."

"What?" Stiles wonders "You just started school this morning. How do you fall in love so fast?"

And Ethan starts laughing and he gets this goofy smile on his face.

"Sometimes all it takes is one look, and it's so obvious, isn't it?"

Stiles is hallucinating. He never imagined that. He never believed in love at first sight. And yet Scott and Allison are a prime example. But Stiles prefers to believe that love is first formed by a friendship.

''Yeah, maybe. And why shouldn't you then? Who's the lucky guy?"

Ethan seems all embarrassed all of a sudden and stands up. He takes a post it and writes on it the one name Stiles couldn't have imagined... _Jackson_. And Stiles really needs to hold it down so he doesn't make a face. 

''Really? Cause he's so..."

Stiles is thinking. Isn't he doing exactly what Scott's doing to her? No... this is different. Jackson's just been a jerk for years... a real asshole... and Ethan is so sweet... Stiles looks up at him and starts smiling.

''So in a couple...''

Ethan takes a crap-eating smile and raises his eyebrows.

''Nope. They broke up this afternoon... Well, whatever. I don't even know if"

He stops and holds out his ear before he smiles. 

''OK, they're home."

Barely a minute later, Isaac comes into the room with a big smile on his face.

''Come on, let's go get the pizzas. Don't think, no is not an option, Stiles."

Stiles grunts and gets out of bed. When he comes down to the living room, everyone smiles at him. And no one talks about what he did earlier. Strangely, no one seems afraid of him. Which stiles thinks is really weird, because he's afraid of himself. 

While everyone else is eating and talking about the kanima and the upcoming classes or practices with Derek, Stiles relives over and over what happened in the hallway and he can feel the fear rising inside him. Fear and a lot of questions: What is he really? How did he get Scott across the hall? Could he go so far as to hurt his friends? What if his dad stood between him and Derek? Could he hurt his dad? He closes his eyes and tries to calm down.

Aiden puts his hand gently on his shoulder. Stiles looks at him surprised, but Aiden doesn't say anything, he just looks uncomfortable. In fact, they all look suddenly uncomfortable.

''You stink of fear and worry, Stiles.'' Finally, Erica says, ''It's really stifling.''

Stiles grunts and gets up to open the window.

''I'm sorry. I'm really starting to scare myself. I have no idea what's happening to me, and I don't know if I'm not going to hurt you. It's... it's so horrible to be out of control.''

Derek gets up and closes the window.

''You're gonna catch a cold, Stiles, it's minus five degrees outside. We all know what it feels like to feel that. Everybody here felt it the first full moon. So don't worry, everybody understands."

''Maybe you understand, but I don't.'' Stiles complains ''I don't understand what I am. You know what you are, you've all had the help of another werewolf to help control you. Nobody knows what I am. I don't even know what I can do or how to do it or if I can control myself. I feel like a bomb that's gonna go off and hurt all of you."

He looks at each of his new friends before going up to his room and getting warm in the safety of his duvet cocoon.

He hears the front door slam, then the door to Isaac's room and silence fills his house. He closes his eyes and is startled when he feels a weight sag behind him and a hand gently resting on his waist.

''I can leave if you want to be alone. I just want to make sure you're all right."

Stiles tightens the duvet a little tighter around him, but shakes his head.

''No, Derek. Stay if it's okay."

"Do you want me to change into your favorite pillow?"

Stiles sniffs and grabs the hand that's on top of him. He pulls it gently towards him, and Derek seems to get the message because he lies down behind Stiles and holds it tight. And even though Stiles' blanket is between the two of them, Stiles feels all the warmth that radiates from the werewolf and he feels good.

''No. Stay."

Stiles closes his eyes and tries not to think about everything that just happened. And he really feels like the worst is yet to come.

''Many times'' Derek whispers softly, ''when I was a lost wolf you held me so tightly in your arms that all my broken pieces came together. Let me do the same for you."

Stiles huddles even more in the reassuring space of Derek's arms and lets sleep take over.


	10. You make me extraordinary

And when he wakes up the next day, he's alone in his bed, but the side where Derek was lying is still warm. Stiles gets up with a smile on his face until he thinks back on the night before. He gets dressed and goes downstairs to the kitchen. And for the first time since he offered him a place to live, Stiles doesn't jump when he runs into Isaac eating his cereal.

''Hey. Sleep well? Hurry up or we're gonna be late."

Stiles looks over at Isaac, who gives him a smile way too big for one morning. 

''What?"

"Nothing... just." Isaac looks at his bowl of cereal and smiles some more. "Nothing."

''Come on, don't make me pull your leg. What's up? Why do you look so... so amused? Weird? ''

Isaac raises his bowl to drink his milk before getting up and putting it in the sink. He moves closer to Stiles, and sniffs him unscrupulously before taking a big smile.

''That's what I thought. You smell like Derek. And it's just unbelievable because last night I was sure he was here and yet I could only hear one heartbeat. So I just assumed he was gone. But you smell like him. So I guess he slept here...which means your hearts were beating at exactly the same speed and that's just totally impossible. You two are really weird."

Stiles doesn't even know how to respond to that. Maybe it's the first time he hasn't known what to say. 

''Okay. We're really gonna be late, Stiles. Come on, move it!" Isaac says before he goes to the front door to put on his shoes.

They're late to school because Stiles, lost in thought, took a wrong turn. He kept asking himself questions about who he really is and how he really feels about Derek. And knowing if it's related? Is it really love or is it just a mystical connection that makes him think he's in love? He really needs to see if Deaton has any more information for him. 

Isaac jumps out of the jeep to get to his math class while Stiles drags his feet to his classroom. He has to turn around to get his notebooks and so he arrives long after the bell rings.

When he arrives in the Spanish class, Mrs. Suez stops him immediately and brings him to the stage.

''"Dígame por qué llega tarde, Sr. Stilinski.'' _(Tell me why you're late, Mr. Stilinski.)_

''"Me preguntaba sobre mi vida y no veía pasar el tiempo. Tengo muchas preguntas sobre mi futuro, y me hizo olvidar que la hora pasa sin esperar." _(I was wondering about my life and didn't see the time go by. I have many questions about my future, and it made me forget that the hour is passing without waiting.)_

Mrs. Suez looks at him in amazement and Stiles thanks Melissa inwardly for teaching him and Scott Spanish as children, arguing that the earlier children learn, the faster they integrate another language. 

''Go sit down.''

Stiles walks over to his usual seat, next to Scott. His best friend is gesticulating to tell him to hurry up, but the teacher stops him.

''Oh, no, you're not going to spend the whole class talking to your friend. Just sit there."

She points to the seat next to Ethan and Stiles sits there smiling at his new friend. 

"It's Jackson!" Ethan whispers to him as soon as the teacher turns her back.

Stiles smiles and nods.

''Yeah, I know. I remember our conversation, you know. I'm sorry I left in such a hurry yesterday, I couldn't process everything that happened before you talked to me. But don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I can't understand why you're in love with him, but just so you know, if you need help, I'm your man and..."

"No," stops Ethan, "it's Jackson. That was him last night."

"Last night?" Stiles asks, frowning. 

Ethan looks up and Stiles understands. He opens his eyes and stares blankly as he falls out of his chair. 

''No. No. That's not possible.''

He can feel everyone staring at him, and he sits awkwardly in his chair watching his teacher, who looks furious. She glares at him blankly before continuing to write the verbs on the blackboard.

"Are you sure?"

Ethan nods his head and Stiles turns to look at Scott and then Erica, who also nods.

''We're all sure. 100%. "It's totally his scent."

''Holy shit. What do we do now?"

Ethan shrugs his shoulders.

"We need to confront him with the problems of his past. Do you know anything about that? I know he's adopted."

Stiles turns to Ethan in amazement.

''How do you know that? He never talks about it."

Ethan takes a big smile on his face.

''He practices every morning at 7:00, so I just joined him and we talked. We had a pretty good laugh, actually, and we have to meet up after practice because we're in chemistry together."

Stiles is really impressed. Ethan seems so shy and sweet and yet so confident at the same time.

"Don't worry, Stiles, I'll teach you," Ethan laughs before he copies the class. 

Stiles shakes his head and sighs. Well, it couldn't be any worse. Jackson's part of the Hale pack. And now he's gonna have to refrain from killing it. It was hard enough not to hurt Scott yesterday, but if Jackson gets in that situation, Stiles doesn't know if he's gonna be able to stop himself from killing him. He's looking at Ethan out of the corner of his eye. But how is he attracted to Jackson? They say opposites attract... and then who's Stiles to judge.

Classes go by surprisingly fast, considering Stiles is totally caught up in his thoughts. They all meet at 12:30 at the lacrosse field to talk about Jackson.

''We need to find out why he's so stuck on his past'' says Scott ''and go talk to him about it.''

''Do we know if he's looking for a master or a friend?'' asks Isaac, ''because if he's a master, it's probably Stiles. But if it's a friend, it's definitely not Stiles."

Stiles exchanges a knowing look with Isaac, then notices Ethan's smile as he talks about Jackson. Everyone notices it, and also notices the cold look Aiden gives his brother. Apparently, Stiles isn't the only one who doesn't totally approve of Ethan's crush on Jackson.

"Stilinski!"

Stiles jumps up and turns to the coach who calls him. 

"Yes, Coach?"

"The new guidance counselor wants to see you. She says I'm not allowed to play you until you go see her. So you go. Now!"

Stiles is grunting as he grabs his stuff. 

''No kidding. Like I need this right now. Okay, I'll see you in chemistry."

He's heading slightly worried towards the councilwoman's office. And as soon as she closes the door, he knows he was right to be worried. He looks at his badge, noting Mrs. Morell. Guidance counselors change so often at this school that no one really knows he's the current one. He vaguely heard that this one started yesterday, but he didn't even think he'd walk through the doors of this office.   
He sits across from her, frowning. She looks really young for the job. She has long black hair and especially black eyes that make Stiles look feeling like a target. 

''Stiles, we know you're a special person.''

''I know'' confirms Stiles as he moves in his chair. ''I have an irresistible charm, very good grades and a folder that would be perfect if it didn't include rudeness towards the teachers.''

She looks at him, smiles and nods her head and presses a button that lights up red and starts to blink.

''Except there's something missing from your folder. Something that you don't seem to have mastered either."

Stiles moves awkwardly in his chair and rubs his hands together.

''We know you're surrounded by a lot of friends. But we want to look at your personal case, Stiles. And to do that, you're going to have to tell your friends not to follow you. And we know that you can do that."

''What if I don't?''

''We know all about you, Stiles. We know where to find your father. We know where to find a man named Derek Hale. Or Scott McCall. Or any of your friends. I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of your friends if they get too much trouble."

"What do you want from me?"

''We want to talk to you. To study you. And take advantage of who you are. You're a rare case, Stiles. Really rare. Exceptional."

''You know my friends can hear our conversation.''

It shows the red button that's always flashing.

''This broadcasts ultra-sounds that prevent your friends from hearing us. We're both, Stiles. There's a black car waiting for us outside the school. You're gonna get in it right now, and you're gonna tell your friends not to follow you. If you leave them any clues, we'll know. You're important to us, Stiles. But not them."

She gets up and signals to Stiles to do the same thing. He walks down the hallway with his head down and gets stopped by Lydia.

''Hey Stiles, what are you doing? You look pale. I finished my translation. He's looking for a friend."

Stiles looks at the counselor standing right next to him. 

''Thank you, Lydia, you're the best. Can you go tell Ethan, please? It was meant for him. Tell him he was right, about the look. Tell them I'm not looking so good. Scott knows I was sick last night. Tell him I'm going to the doctor's to get checked out and I'll be right back, but I don't need him to come with me."

Lydia leans forward to put her hand on Stiles' forehead.

''You look like you have a fever, Stiles. Come here."

She hugs herself and puts her head so that she's hidden from Mrs. Morell.

''Are you sure you're okay?''

Stiles shakes his head to the negative and hugs Lydia a little tighter so he can whisper in her ear.

''Tell them I wanted to protect them. I'm sorry. Really"

Mrs. Morell taps Stiles on the shoulder and signals him to step forward.

"See you, Lydia."

"See you tomorrow, Stiles, come back safe and sound. A lot of people are gonna be worried about you."

Stiles gets in the car and sees all his friends running up the street. But the car is already starting. Stiles stops them and sees Lydia running towards them. 

They're on the way when he notices the black wolf following the car. He wipes the tear from his cheek and whispers ''I'm sorry, Derek. I'm doing this for your own good."

He hears the wolf howling, but he's already made up his mind. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, he sees his green eyes shining in the rear window. 

''I'm really sorry. But don't follow me.'' He orders firmly ''Stop!''. 

He sees the wolf stop and hears it howl. And Stiles feels it like his heart is bleeding. He wipes another tear down his cheek and puts his head against the window.

''I'm so sorry.''

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, on my string, the kanima is looking for a friend. So no one controls it. It's just looking for the perfect person for it... and Isaac's right, if it's looking for a friend, it certainly isn't Stiles ;-)


	11. ok...Maybe I love you so much that I could die for you.

''Don't worry, Stiles. We just want to talk to you for now." guarantees him a man bigger than he is coming out of the shadows. His face is half eaten through with scars, like burns. 

Stiles looks around again. He's tied to a chair, around a small table. Aside from a little single bed, that's all there is in this room. That and a tiny window that lets the daylight in.

''Then why am I tied up? That's a pretty hostile welcome, don't you think?"

The man unties it and raises his eyebrows.

''Do you know who we are?''

Stiles is staring at the three people in the room. Next to the man with the scars is a short-haired woman with tattoos on both forearms. And on the other side is Mrs. Morell, who is clearly not a guidance counselor. 

''Three psychopaths?'' Stiles says with a smile on his face, ''No, wait. Three warlocks who want to steal my powers to conquer the world? Or something like that, right?"

The man shakes his head.

''We're Druids. We're ancient emissaries. Like the Marine's brother, Deaton. Except we've turned our backs on our packs."

"Actually, me not really," corrects Mrs. Morell...Marine. And Stiles is hallucinating that she's Deaton's sister. He's so full of wisdom when his sister has this horrible crooked smile on her face "I had become the emissary of an Alpha pack. Imagine, four Alphas willing to kill their own pack to create a powerful pack. It was really pretty good."

"And where are your bloodthirsty wolves?" Stiles asks.

''You're much more interesting than they are, Stiles. I couldn't help but meet you, so I abandoned them. I'd never seen one Taiji before. No one here has ever seen one Taiji. We absolutely had to come and meet you and see where you get your power from. And see how far it extends."

Stiles is completely lost and it must show on his face because the woman with the tattoos is laughing her head off.

''He doesn't even know what he is. It's so cute."

The man sits in the vacant chair in front of Stiles and smiles.

''You're a Taiji. In China, the term "tàijí tú" reminds us that the concepts of soul and sisterhood are linked and that one exists because of the other. Some wolves are said to be given one Taiji even before they are born. According to Chinese legend, the wolf hears the cry of his half only when the Taiji is facing death. Derek's wolf heard your cry when Peter tried to kill you. And that's why he became a true Alpha. And that's why Taiji is so rare. They usually die long before their wolf has time to find them and save them. Sometimes they even live on different continents. But once soul mates are found, nothing can separate them. If they are separated or harmed, their rage will turn on the person responsible until their anger has subsided."

Stiles looks at him with a big smile.

''And knowing that, you decide to kidnap one of the soul mates? Weren't you afraid the other half would take revenge?"

The man smiles back at him. But it's almost a frightening smile.

''You're smart, kid. But me too. We took the good half. The building we're in is completely surrounded by rowan powder. Your half can find us, but your half can never get into the circle."

''So what do you want from me?''.

''We want to harness your power. There are only two Taiji recorded in centuries and we know their powers were exceptional. And nothing ever goes away, Stiles. So imagine, if we can take your powers, we'll be so strong we can conquer the supernatural world."

''Oh, my God,'' moans Stiles, exaggerating ''I was right. This is the conquest of the world. That's why there's always bad guys in the movies. And I suppose in order to take my powers, you'll have to kill me? Is that why this place is surrounded by mountain ash? So you can kill me without being interrupted?"

The man nods and laughs.

"You're a clever little boy. But we don't kill, we sacrifice. And not only are we surrounded by rowan, but the whole building was built with nemeton wood. The Nemeton was a sacred place, an imposing tree chosen by the druids to represent the center of the world. It was here that the druids practiced magic, divination, justice and sacrifices that nourished the nemeton, bringing it energy and power. Nemeton wood has the power to contain magic before redeploying it. As a result, all magic here is absorbed by the walls. So Derek has no way of knowing you're here because you can't use your powers. He'll still be able to follow the scent of the car, but that'll just make him go around in circles because we tampered with it."

Stiles puts his head between his hands and slides his fingers through the locks of his hair.

''And in three days, it's gonna be an annular eclipse. I'm guessing that means something to you."

''It's a shame to have to do without your brain. You must really be the one making the plans in the Hale pack. The moon will slip past the sun, leaving only a ring of light around it. And that ring will reverberate precisely around this building. We have the perfect time and the perfect place."

''All that was missing was the perfect kid,'' concluded Stiles, ''and I guess a Taiji suits you.''

"It's better than we could have imagined. Sacrificing the unspeakable will open the doors to a world you don't even know exists."

''And you thought about my father? Do you know I'm going to be wanted?"

The man laughs and pulls out a picture and puts it on the table. And the sight of his car up against a tree makes Stiles flinch.

''You were in a car accident, Stiles. You were eating and driving and you lost control. At least that's what the investigators are going to conclude. Unfortunately for you, you were attacked by a wild beast."

The man pulls out a second photo that Stiles barely even looks at. A disfigured corpse lies in the forest wearing Stiles' lacrosse outfit. 

The man and the two women eventually leave the room, leaving him alone. And Stiles has never felt more alone. With his finger, he draws his father's sheriff's star in the palm of his hand. And each peak is no longer a number, but a member of the pack: Scott; Isaac; Boyd; Erica, the twins and even Jackson. And he's pressing in the palm of his hand thinking of Derek. Derek isn't one of the peaks of the star, Derek is the centre. He's the one who brings them all together. Derek became the center of Stiles' life, and he only now notices it.

He can't even hope his friends will find him. He doesn't even know if he wants his friends to find him because it's clear that the druids will have no qualms about killing them. And he doesn't want his friends to die for him. 

He wonders what they're doing, if they've managed to help Jackson. He wonders if it's Lydia who has known Jackson for years or if it's Ethan, who just met him, who will be able to help him the best. And if that idiot Jackson will agree to get help... Stiles is certain that Jackson is going to give them a run for their money. 

Every time he's allowed to leave the room to go to the bathroom, he focuses in front of the mirror. He just wants to see if Derek's okay. See if he's managed to become a man again. He's really hoping the wolf doesn't get the better of him because even though Stiles loves the wolf, he knows Derek feels bad when he gets the better of him. So Stiles concentrates as hard as he can, but even though he can feel the slight tingling under his skin, his eyes never turn green and he can't see anything.

Then he goes back to what he calls _his cell_ and draws with his finger the star in the palm of his hand.

He counts the nights. And Saturdays are coming much too fast for his taste. Too fast and not enough at the same time. He's starting to go crazy. He has drawn the star so much in his hand that it is impregnated in his palm by the marks of his fingernails.

He knows the annular eclipse is at 10:15. Because the lacrosse game that was supposed to happen in the morning has been moved to 3:00pm because of that. He's wondering if his friends are going to play this afternoon. He's thinking about coach. If they don't show up, the team won't be able to play. And Stiles feels bad for the coach. Because he's weird and totally delusional, but he's not mean. And he clearly loves his players. Well, maybe not Greenberg...

The door to the room opens and the man with the scar is tying his wrists behind his back before getting him on the elevator. 

''The service at this hotel is poor'' Stiles complains, ''even the canteen offers better meals. Frankly, hospitality isn't your thing, is it?"

The man sighs and looks up to the sky.

''You keep me captive for three days and I don't even get a chance to take a shower. I wish I'd smelled better the day I died. It's a good thing I didn't have any lacrosse training before I came. We, but do you realize? Three days at my age and without deodorant?"

"Shut up" orders the man "you're giving me a headache."

''But maybe it's because YOU are giving me a headache. Maybe because of you, I haven't taken my medicine for three days. Do you realize my head is about to explode?"

The man punches him in the face, which propels him up against the elevator wall.

''Beware, if you kill me now, no superpowers and no conquering the world. But anyway, you know Derek will hunt you down until you die, right? As long as you sacrifice me, you're sacrificing yourself with me."

The elevator stops and the man pushes Stiles to the roof of the building. The sun's already almost completely hidden by the moon.

''We'll have incredible powers because of you. We'll be able to kill Derek with one look."

The man ties Stiles to a pole in the middle of the roof.

''Don't worry, he'll be next on our list. He won't suffer your loss for long."

Stiles feels the anger building up inside him. He looks the man straight in the eye and imagines him being propelled across the roof by an invisible hand. But he can't get his eyes to change colour, and the man doesn't move an inch.

''A Taiji who seems to know how to use his powers. It's better than anything we could have dreamed of" laughs the tattooed woman, "but here, all the magic is absorbed. So there's nothing you can do to us. I look forward to testing the extent of your powers. To be able to fight only with your mind must be so amazing. Have you ever killed an opponent with your powers? It is said that Taiji can kill an opponent with a single glance."

''My powers are only triggered to save my soul mate. So how do you think you trigger them?"

The man looks at him in disbelief and Stiles starts laughing.

''What? You didn't know? The only way to use your powers is to guarantee the safety of the other half. So if you kill me, you cut the wire. There will be no more ties, no more halves to protect, no more power."

Stiles watches as Mrs Morell arrive. He sees the man hesitating, but the three druids circle around him. He closes his eyes and hears them make an incantation. 

''And when you realise it didn't work, remember that Derek will hunt you down wherever you go and be happy to kill you.''

The first blow of the dagger in his hand opens his eyes. And he knows they're green.

"Magnificent!" exclaims the man with the scars.

"They're mine." Stiles grunts by looking at the wound in his hand right in the middle of the star drawn by his fingernails. "You'll never get what I have. Not my green eyes, not my powers.That's my link."

The woman stabs him again with a dagger, this time in his right side. And Stiles pinches his lips so he doesn't scream. There's no way he's gonna give them the satisfaction. And yet when the man stabs him in the thigh with a dagger, he starts screaming. 

And he thinks he hears the wolf howling back. But the complete lack of reaction from druids reciting something in an unfamiliar language makes him realize that he must have invented this howl. And then he feels it. He feels it all over him. It's like he's floating. Like he's rising. 

The druids raise their heads to the moon, which is surrounded by a perfect circle of light. A dagger blow in the arm surprises him and he screams. But he doesn't even hear his own scream. He only hears the gunshots that ring out. Stiles closes his eyes and he feels as if it's shooting all around him, and yet he doesn't receive a single bullet. 

When he reopens his eyes, all he sees is her. Allison. She's standing in front of him with a crossbow. She's surrounded by three other hunters. Three men. Stiles is looking at the three druids lying at her feet. The fake guidance counselor has an arrow through her head. 

Allison unties him from the pole but leaves his hands tied and pushes him forward.

She pushes him into the elevator, followed by the other hunters. When the doors open again, she gives him a little wink. It's so light that Stiles wonders if he hasn't dreamt it. 

And then he hears it. The howl of the wolf. And since the hunters aren't reacting, he knows he's the only one who hears it. Allison leads him to a bald, gray-haired man. One of the hunters draws a ring of rowan trees wide around them and the black van before he takes up his rifle again.

''Well done, Allison, nice catch. Now his wolf will be forced to come and save him and we can kill him. Once we kill the Alpha, the others will follow so easily it won't even be funny."

Stiles turns to Allison really pissed off.

''So that's all I am? Bait? You sold me to please your grandfather?"

Allison slaps him in the face and yells at him to shut up, which only makes Stiles angrier.

''Just when I think about how I've always supported Scott. Even though I knew you came from a hunting family, I never told him to watch out for you."

The old man laughs before he takes Stiles' chin in his hands to force him to look him in the eye.

''And that doesn't ring a bell? Allison is Kate's niece, and a worthy one at that. Like if werewolves deserve to be loved? They're just monsters."

Stiles' eyes turn green immediately and the old man gets thrown against the van behind him. The man is suddenly lifted off the ground, as if held by an invisible hand. But he immediately falls back to the ground when great pain seizes Stiles. One of the hunters has just put a bullet through his thigh. Stiles collapses in pain, and the old man starts coughing and laughing.

"One skinny teenager against five proven hunters? Did you really think you had a chance? Not as long as I'm around, kid. Gerard Argent, nice to meet you."

And that's exactly when he sees it. The wolf runs through the parking lot at an astonishing speed, causing uninterrupted fire from all the hunters. All except Allison, who shifts to break the rowan tree fence with her foot. 

But at the same time, Gerard puts a big shotgun blast behind his head and closes the circle as Allison falls to the ground next to Stiles, who really doesn't understand anything anymore.

Just as the wolf is crossing and hits the rowan tree wall, he falls back on his back and a bullet hits him in the chest. About 15 hunters appear all around the parking lot, guns in hand. Stiles sees all his friends come out of the woods and fight under the sound of the bullets.

His eyes immediately turn green again. Stiles gets down on all fours holding his thigh and watches as the hunter who was about to shoot Derek again is propelled out of the rowan circle. The hunter has barely fallen to the ground when the Jackson, his face half covered in scales, gives him a big shot with his tail, slaloming between shots. 

Gerard kicks Stiles on the thigh and he starts screaming and falls to the ground. He has just enough time to catch the wolf's eye. He's lying on the ground, purple smoke billowing out of his fur.

''These monsters ain't worth loving, kid. They're like rabid dogs, you just have to put them down."

Stiles' eyes get brighter as he stands up and winces. Stiles rise, look on the hunter about to shoot Derek and send him out of the circle. Jackson takes care of it right away, just like he did the first one. And Stiles notices from the parking lot, all the hunters are either paralyzed or overpowered by one of his friends. Scott and Boyd keep trying to break the rowan circle, to no avail.

Gerard throws a punch to Stiles, and Stiles gets up immediately. It's no longer a tingling that runs through his body, it's an enormous energy that makes him feel like he's radiating. The hunter who is still in the circle shoots a shot into Stiles' arm, which gives a heart-rending scream but remains standing. At a glance, he throws the hunter out of the circle and propels Gerard against the van.

''He's a much more deserving human being than you are. He not only deserves to be loved but he is loved." Stiles shouts as he lifts Gerard off the floor. 

Stiles has no time to react as Gerard pulls a gun out of his pocket and shoots him in the stomach. He collapses to the ground, letting Gerard fall back heavily in front of him.

''It's over, kid. I always win" Gerard says as he gets up and stared at his suit.

Gerard points his rifle at Stiles as the wolf leaps to his feet and jumps on the wall of the rowan tree, blowing it up. The wolf jumps on Gerard and manages to wound him before a shot is fired. And the wolf falls back to the ground, causing a cloud of yellow dust.

''Special aconite for him, No antidote. I always win.''

Stiles raises his head to Gerard, who points his gun at it and a shot is fired immediately.

And Gerard falls to the ground. 

Stiles turns to find his father, gun in hand, leaning behind his sheriff's car on the corner of the building. He gently points his gun at the wolf as he walks towards them.

"Stiles, step away from the wolf, son."

Stiles holds his bleeding belly and stumbles by the wolf. The wolf groans weakly and Stiles looks him in the eye. The wolf's eyes immediately turn red. But they're not vermilion red, they're pastel. Stiles looks up at his father, who drops his gun. Stiles knows his eyes are green. He also knows that they're brighter as they used to be. 

He takes one last look at Scott before he drapes his arms around the wolf. He knows exactly what he has to do.

He forbids pack members to come near and he knows it works, because he hears their groans of submission. He doesn't even have to look at them to make them obey, just think about it. He forces Isaac and Scoot to hold his father to keep him from moving forward.

"I'm sorry. Don't blame him, it's my choice. I have to do this. I can't let him die."

He watches Derek become human again and puts his hands on both wounds with his eyes closed.   
The radiation becomes a burn and Stiles starts screams uncontrollably as he reopens his eyes.

Derek is still unconscious, completely covered in blood, but his wounds are completely closed. And Stiles knows it's his own blood he sees everywhere. Stiles feels his powers abandon him and Derek goes back to being a wolf.

He lays his head against the fur before closing his eyes.

And the only thing he hears is his mother's voice.

_Love is like death, Stiles. You can't guess when, where, and how it comes, but it's nothing to be afraid of. You just have to accept it, son._

And the only thing he wants to say is _I love you_ , but he doesn't have the strength for that anymore.


	12. Stand up to you

When he comes to his senses, he's in bed. But he's not at home, that's for sure. He's never been here before. And everything looks so new. He automatically looks at his right hand and there's no sign of an injury. He straightens up and realizes that it doesn't hurt. 

Scott immediately straightens up in his chair and jumps to his bedside.

''How are you feeling?''

Stiles lifts up his shirt to look at his side. But there's nothing there, either. So he takes a huge sigh.

''I had a horrible nightmare. I was being kidnapped and"

''It wasn't a nightmare,'' stops Scott ''it happened. This morning."

"But why don't I have any scars?"

"The pack healed you." Scott says before he gets up to open the door.

Stiles watches him go into disbelief, then looks at his hands again.

"But why can Derek's pack heal me?"

"Because it's your pack, Stiles."

Stiles immediately raises his head to the bedroom door and jumps out of bed. He runs across the room and jumps into Derek's arms. And lucky for him, Derek catches up with him right away.

And Stiles bursts out laughing when he realizes what position he's in. He just jumps at Derek Hale's neck. And the worst part is, he caught him, and he's not even up against a wall with a black look.

''I'm sorry'' excuses Stiles by getting on his feet and taking a step back. ''When I don't get my medication, I get a little intense.''

Scott comes out of the room and closes the door behind him, not without giving his best friend an amused wink. Derek gives him a smile that Stiles could never have imagined and hugs him again.

"I'm sorry" Derek says softly, "when someone tries to kill my favourite human, I get a little intense."

"Am I your favorite human?" Stiles asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe." Derek confesses with a bright smile "You're my half, Stiles. And that's why this pack is yours as much as mine."

"I'm a Taiji." Stiles proudly declares "I'm your soul mate and you're mine. Your wolf heard me and saved me. Several times, in fact."

''No Stiles, you saved me'' says Derek softly ''and when I think you were willing to die for me. I feel like..." Derek seems hesitant and then he gets all serious and he goes, "I just want to kill you, in fact. You can't even imagine how much pain I would've gone through without you? The pain I felt when I thought you were dead. It was unbearable, Stiles."

Stiles takes a step back and frowns.

''Wait? What? Are you calling me selfish right now? I used powers I wasn't even aware of like two minutes before I did it and you're thanking me by telling me that you want to kill me? I'm the one who wants to kill you, Derek!"

''Your house is beautiful, but it's not soundproofed for werewolves, Derek'' Erica yells ''You should've thought of that. Now come downstairs before you start yelling at each other! You guys suck for the homecoming! To think that you made us all this soul mates willing to die for each other, just for this! To swear to kill each other? Stop this bullshit and get off!"

Stiles and Derek look at each other and laugh and then Stiles looks around.

''Wait? Is this your house? The Hale'house? Really?"

Derek smiles and nods. Stiles looks at the brand-new paintings and the furniture that fills the room he's in. 

"But how?"

"A million dollars."

"What?"

''I paid a million dollars to have my house redone in record time. And oddly enough, a lot of contractors were willing to take the job... They called it the "extreme job site."

Derek reopens the bedroom door and gently takes Stiles' hand as his guide. And Stiles doesn't let go of his hand as he walks up the hallway towards the stairs.

''But I thought the city was gonna tear it down.''

''This is my house, Stiles. I would have fought for it. But don't worry, I didn't even have to fight for it. All I had to do was put money on the table and we'd have settled it."

Derek turned around as they reached the top of the stairs and smiled at Stiles.

''It was Peter's inheritance. It's his gift for the pack."

And Stiles starts laughing as they come down the stairs.

''We're really gonna have to thank him for all these gifts: the house, my powers, you becoming a real Alpha, the teenage pack, the crazy druids, the giant lizard.''

"Hey," yells a voice in the living room, "don't call me that.And why are you quoting me last?"

Stiles lets go of Derek's hand and enters the living room. The walls are light grey and three black sofas are spread across the room, around a giant screen. 

''It's so beautiful. A few pictures of the pack on the walls and it'll just be perfect."

He looks at his pack, and they're waiting for him, and they're smiling. Scott's sitting with Allison, next to Isaac and Boyd. Erica is chatting with Lydia who seems to be quite close to Aiden, while Jackson is sitting squarely in Ethan's arms. 

''I think I've missed a couple of episodes over the last few days. OK, I'll tell you everything I found out about myself, but you're gonna have to tell me what happened on your end."

Derek gently pulls Stiles' arm to get him on one of the couches and sits down next to him. 

"OK" Ethan says, "so where do we start?"

"Start with when I left with that crazy lady. I swear, I will never go to a guidance counsellor again in my life. I will figure out what I want to do on my own."

Scott sits on the edge of the couch and looks at his best friend with a smile on his face.

''OK. So you disappeared in the black car. Lydia came over and delivered your message. Nice job with the doctor and the exam. We knew right away it was the Druids who took you away. We went to see Deaton and when we talked about Mrs. Morell, he understood right away. But we couldn't figure out where you were."

''And I overheard my dad talking about a surprise attack planned during the annular eclipse to suppress supernaturals'' Allison continued, ''so I told Scott. But I haven't been able to get any information on the location."

"Meanwhile" Isaac chuckles as he continues "Ethan was found Jackson in the locker room."

"Oh," complains Jackson, moaning "Do we really have to tell that part?"

"Definitely!" Stiles says with a big smile, "The way you're reacting, I definitely want to know! What did Jackson Whittemore ? Did you behave like a little jerk? I swear, when I was in my cell, with nothing to do but think, I was imagining every possible scenario about you... I was sure you wouldn't accept the help that was offered."

Jackson looks up and Ethan gently strokes his neck with his hand.

"Glad I could entertain your thoughts."

"So?" Stiles asks, raising his eyebrows, "Did you behave like a real jerk?"

"Maybe."

"Totally" laughs Isaac, "Now you've really missed all the fun. We should've filmed it, if we'd known. Imagine : Lacrosse practice is over. Jackson just got dressed and Ethan comes out of nowhere, slams him on the locker and says, _"Your name was Jackson Miller when you were born and I think I'm in love with you, Jackson Whittemore"_ and then he kisses him."

"And then" Ethan goes on, "he gives me the biggest slap in the history of slapping."

''I'm sorry'' says Jackson as he tightens up on Ethan ''you could've taken it a little gently anyway. It was way too sudden. I mean, who does that?"

"What's next?" Stiles gets impatient. "I can see this is going to end well, I want to know how that idiot made up for it."

"That idiot" Ethan smiles and points to Jackson ''pushed me so hard after that, I hurt myself with one of the lockers open behind me. And you think he'd have helped me? No, of course not."

"So I came" Aiden says, "I felt the slap. And she was fucking strong. And then the great pain in my back. So I threw myself at him. But then the coach came in and he put the five of us in detention."

''When clearly Isaac and I hadn't done anything.'' Boyd says.

Stiles takes turns watching them, not losing a piece of their story. He knows it's the lack of his meds that makes him so excited, but he doesn't care. He wants to make up for all the time the evil druids have stolen from him.

''And right in the middle of detention, I thought of you'' says Ethan ''I remembered you said you could tell who was part of the pack by looking into their eyes. But only their real wolf eyes. So I took my best yellow eyes and I looked at Jackson. And when he caught my eye, he changed. His skin became covered with scales and a big lizard tail. But his eyes were blue."

"'Then" Boyd goes on and smiles and says "Ethan gets up, stands over there in front of the giant lizard and says, _"Try to hurt me, Jackson, you're gonna regret this. So now you stop being so stubborn and actually change so we can go out without you threatening to turn into a giant lizard in the middle of the hugs. And don't pretend I'm not your type, I'm everyone's type''_ and Jackson yelled and turned into a werewolf. It was huge."

"I recognised him," said Jackson, "and I knew from his yellow eyes that he was the one I was looking for. It was a no-brainer. So I still don't remember what I did as Kanima, but from the colour of my eyes, I know it's bad. But it became clear that he was the one I was looking for when I wanted to enter the basement on the night of the full moon, and then when I came to your house. And now, thanks to Ethan, I can turn into a werewolf, but I still have venom in my claws."

"And a giant, disgusting tail" Ethan laughs.

''Hey. It's been used for the hunters. And I can do that, too."

Jackson looks Stiles in the eye and shows him his reptilian eyes, then his blue eyes.

''Classy, right? You gotta admit, that's even nicer than your green eyes."

"Gross" laughs Stiles. "OK. So Jackson's joined the pack, found out he likes boys too, he's dating Ethan and he looks like he's trying to become a more liveable being, but he's got a long way to go. What's next?"

Everyone looks at him funny and Stiles sighs with anticipation. 

''Lydia and Aiden did some research.'' Scott continues ''Lydia knew we weren't just humans so she wanted to help. But they couldn't find any more information about who you are. And Derek was going crazy because he couldn't figure out where you were. Allison asked his dad about the druids, and we figured you had to be held in some magical place. And since the coach postponed the game because of the eclipse and we put it all together. Deaton said they would try to sacrifice the unspeakable and he knew exactly where it would happen. But we had to get you out of the building. So Allison sold the bait to her grandfather."

''Is that why you broke the circle? But then why did you hit me?"

''I'm sorry, I had to be believable all the way through. I really thought I was. I never thought he'd find me out."

Stiles is nodding his head and thinking.

"What about my dad?" He leaps to his feet like he just remembers his dad was there. Which he totally does, "Where's my dad?"

''He's fine,'' said Derek, gently placing his hands on Stiles' shoulder, ''He's fine. He's at the station with the hunters. It's okay, Stiles. He still loves you so much and he doesn't care that you're anything. Even if you were a demon, he'd still love you."

Stiles turns to him and smiles. Derek's hand comes down on his arm and pulls him to sit back down. Stiles sits down while he takes Derek's hand in his and he looks at Scott again.

"Surprise guest" Scott grumbles, "we didn't see that one coming. Despite the staging of the accident, he never believed you were dead. He knew you'd never eat and drive, for fear of messing up your Roscoe. Besides, it was just plain normal fries in the car, when everybody knows you only eat curly fries. So he went looking for you. All over the place. I don't know how he found you, but he did."

''We had to explain it to him'' Isaac says softly ''He knows what we are. And that the wolf is Derek. We didn't have to explain it to him, he saw the whole thing. Everyone saw Derek."

Stiles closes his eyes and imagines his father learning all this.

''Does he know what we are?'' he asks as he looks at Derek.

Derek shakes his head.

''We told him you were special'' Scott says, ''that you're not like us. But not that you were attached to Derek. He'll find out enough about you. Derek, get ready to take a bullet."

Stiles tosses a pillow over his best friend before huddling up to Derek, making them touch their sides from shoulder to toe.

''I still don't understand how you managed to heal our wounds'' Stiles ends up saying.

''You totally healed Derek and then you collapsed. You had no more control over us, and we all ran to you. So I punched Derek to make him come to. I wanted him to save you like you saved him. He ran up to you and he put his arms around you, and I swear, for once I wish he'd been a wolf because it was so embarrassing."

"Okay," cut Derek off. "That's good. He gets it. I'm sorry I can't transforms up dressed. I swear, this is even more embarrassing for me, but we're all gonna pretend like you didn't see it. And if we don't, we're all gonna remember that it's just a dick, that most people here own one, and those who don't have one have seen one before this morning."

Stiles laughs as he shakes Derek's hand a little harder.

''I'd like to know why twins can turn into a voltron and keep their pants on while you always show up naked. But I wanna know. What did you do? Normally, wolves can take pain, not heal wounds."

Derek shrugs his shoulders.

''I don't know. I thought that if I held you tight enough."

"That all my broken pieces have come back together" ends Stiles. He jumps up and says "Damn, you used my power to heal me like I did you."

''I wanted to. I tried as hard as I could. But you kept bleeding. Aiden explained that if he was hurt, he'd heal faster if Ethan touched him. And Lydia had told him how packs gather around a wounded wolf, so the whole pack did."

''We all tried to take your pain.'' Scott explains. ''And then you opened your eyes and they turned green. And your wounds went away."

''It's just unbelievable. Thank you."

And in turn, Stiles tells everything he's learned about himself. How he can sense where his powers come from, how he can trigger them, how he can fight with his mind or stop a pack member without even looking at him. And how he knew what he had to do to heal Derek.

''I don't really know what my powers are,'' Stiles concludes, ''but it's good enough to know that what I am has a name. And I know that if I need my powers, I'll know what to do when I need them."

Stiles leaps to his feet when his gaze falls on the clock that reads 2:30pm.

''If we don't go to the lacrosse game right now, Coach is gonna kill us.''

All eyes turn to him in amazement.

''You better be kidding, Stiles.'' Derek says as he stands up beside him, letting go of his hand.

''No, I'm not. There are six of us on the team. If we don't go, the team will have to forfeit. So let's get in the car!"

Stiles drives to the lobby of the house and turns around to see that nobody's moved. Not even Jackson, who he's giving a blank stare at.

"Let's go!''

All of his friends get up at once and he knows it's just because they're his friends, because he hasn't used his powers at all.

And Derek grabs him by the arm as he's about to drive out of the house.

''You've been abducted for three days, Stiles.You've been knife wounded and you've been riddled with bullets. You're not gonna play!"

Stiles looks at him with his eyebrows raised.

''It was dagger shots and no knife. And only three bullets. And yes, I'm gonna play. I'm 17, I'm on my high school lacrosse team, and we have a big game I'm gonna play. Because those psychopaths are certainly not going to get the better of me. I may be a Taiji, but I'm still Stiles. I'm not going to put my life on hold just because some three psychopathic druids wanted to sacrifice me. Either way, they're dead. And what Coach has in store for us if we don't show up is scarier to me than anything I've been through in the last three days. So are you coming with me?"

Derek closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose before looking at Stiles in a huff.

''Do you know I wanna kill you right now just to keep you from leaving this house?''

Stiles smiles and steps over the threshold.

"Too late."


	13. I'm not about to stop

And the game's just great! Stiles is happy to see his dad there and waving at him to cheer him on, like nothing has changed. And Stiles knows that hasn't changed. Hardly anything. The only thing that has changed is that Derek is there too, 100% uncomfortable around him. Melissa, Aiden, Lydia, Allison and Erica are sitting with them.

And Stiles realizes that this is his pack. His whole pack is here. 

"Stilinski" Coach yells out "stop daydreaming and get off your ass! You've been missing practice for three days, you're lucky to be on the field at all."

Stiles rushes out onto the field, noticing Aiden pulling Derek's arm to get him to sit down. Stiles shakes his head under his helmet, they're really gonna have to work on Derek's protective instincts. But at least he didn't turn into a wolf and he didn't rip the coach's head off...so there's already progress.

Stiles feels like he's playing so well for the first time in his life. And he knows why. His physical abilities haven't changed at all, but he's happy. He's fine. He can run around the field and do the sports he loves, with his friends. And just that makes him really happy.

They win the game and it's a real wave of happiness that comes over the field. All the players on the team are jumping up and down and all the parents are screaming. Jackson catches Stiles off guard by huging him by surprise and then laughingly pushes him away.

''Don't get used to it, Stiles, but I'm really glad you're OK. I really would've missed not being able to bother you."

Stiles turns to his father, who walks up to him and gives him a hug. 

''Glad to see my son's doing better. I brought you your medication and some extra clothes. I assume you're staying with your friends to celebrate. So I won't ask any questions for this time, but I want you around the table with me tomorrow at 12:00 sharp."

Stiles hugs his dad and almost drops him on his backside so hard he hugs him.

''No problem, Dad.''

''And tell Derek to come over. As a human being and in clothes. I think the three of us are gonna have to talk."

Stiles looks at his father with gawking eyes, and his father laughs.

''Do you think I don't get it, Son? You think I don't see how he looks at you and how you were willing to die for him? When you said it wouldn't have to be a girl, I didn't expect a big black wolf, I'll tell you that. But this is about you, son, not me. So tomorrow at noon. I choose the menu."

Stiles looks up smiling and meets Derek, who smile. He turns to his father and laughs.

"Steak?"

''I'm going to eat with a werewolf, of course I'm going to make steak! I think I'll prepare a list of questions for tomorrow. This is going to be the weirdest, most rewarding lunch I've ever had in my life."

"I love you so much, Dad.''

Stiles hugs his father again before being taken away by the players on the winning team.

"Do you think anyone else is gonna come looking for you?" Jackson asks as he's having a slice of pizza.

Derek moans at the thought. Finally his wolf. It's been a while since Stiles heard it, and it's making him smile.

Stiles raises an eyebrow as he looks at Jackson sitting on the couch in front of him. They're all back in the living room, sitting exactly as they were before the game.

"Why do I feel like you want me to answer yes to your question?"

Jackson smiles back and Ethan immediately removes his arms from around Jackson and pushes him back to the middle of the couch, looking up at the sky.

''What?! That was still pretty awesome, right? I anaesthetised all the bad guys without taking a single bullet. I love being so much more than just a werewolf."

Stiles giggles. Jackson will always be Jackson.

"And your friend got hurt," Ethan says, rolling his eyes "several of your friends, even. Oh, Jackson!"

Jackson looks at him like he doesn't understand his displeasure.

"Who? Stiles? He's fine now. And now that we know we can get him better quickly, we don't need to protect him too much."

''What?'' Scoot stops him, obviously annoyed. ''Are you kidding? Do you realize he was in pain?"

"I totally agree with Jackson." Stiles says and then chuckles "Oh my God, I never thought I'd say that. But there's no way I'm gonna be the little protégé of the pack. I still have to learn how to manage my powers, but I can largely defend myself. So there's no way you're going to protect me. I'm the leader. I will protect you."

"Derek's the leader" Erica corrected "You're our mommy."

"What?" says Stiles "What?"

"Totally!" Isaac laughs. "You've been doing everything you can to make us a family from the beginning. You've made sure that everyone in the pack is comfortable. You even welcomed me into your home, Stiles. You're a mother to us all."

"You always take the time to listen to us" Ethan continues.

"And never judging us" Scott continues.

"You can tell who's in your pack with one look" Aiden says with a wink ''I hear that's what moms do.''

''And you know exactly who we are, individually, even if we try to hide it'' continues Lydia.

''You welcomed us all into the pack with open arms'' Allison notes.

''You're definitely our mommy'' confirms Boyd.

''Expect to do the food and the laundry... Mom'' Jackson presses the last button just to annoy Stiles and then laughs as he snuggles back into Ethan's arms.

Stiles takes his green eyes with a frown.

''A mommy who can kick all your asses. So cut the crap before I send you all out."

"Can you do it on command now?" Allison asks, impressed.

Stiles nods and grabs a slice of pizza.

''Yeah. I figured out where I got my powers from. All you have to do is accept it and amplify it. I have a feeling I'm about to become a real war machine."

''If you say it's _from love_ , I'm gonna throw up'' Scott warns me with a grin.

Stiles laughs out loud before he looks at Derek out of the corner of his eye.

''Not excatly. But I won't say anything so as not to offend your sensitive soul."

Half the group pushes an "Ohhh" while the other half pretends to vomit... and Derek and Stiles burst out laughing.

"You guys are such babies!" concludes Derek.

And they spend the evening together discussing classes and upcoming games, just like normal teenagers. Until Jackson starts asking questions about the supernatural world again. Then it just doesn't seem like a normal bunch of teenagers anymore.

Stiles ends up falling asleep against Derek's shoulder as he recounts his adventures with some strange creatures that Stiles has no desire to meet in the future.

He reopens his eyes when he feels that he is being put on a bed. Derek kisses him on the forehead before pulling the blanket up over him.

"Stay with me." he whispers without opening his eyes.

''I didn't think I was going anywhere else, Stiles. I was so scared. I really thought I was going to lose you without telling you."

''Tell me what?'' Stiles asks, smiling, still with his eyes closed.

Derek lets out an amused sigh.

"You know what, Stiles."

Stiles opens his eyes and turns slightly to look at Derek sitting on the edge of the bed, while Derek gently strokes his cheek.

"Telling you I love you, Mieczyslaw Stilinski."

"I thought you said you'd never love me?"

And Derek looks up to the sky and he breathes a sigh of exasperation.

"You said the same thing. You're even the one who said it first, M.stubborn."

''Oh, but I don't love you." declares Stiles with a false sense of seriousness as he sits and lays his hand on Derek's cheek. ''I like the colour of your eyes; I like the colour of your fur; I like your wonderful coffee; I like that you know my name and that you know write it down; I love being able to calm your wolf; I love that you make silence pleasant; I love that you look out of me; I love the reassuring space of your arms; I love that you make me extraordinary. Ok...maybe I love you so much I could die for you. But I love being able to stand up to you even more and I'm not about to stop doing that."

''Do you know everyone can hear us?''

''I don't give a damn about that. They all deserve to know how much you deserve to be loved, Derek Hale. I'm not about to stop until you're convinced of that, too.''

Derek gently lays his lips on Stiles'. And it really is like coming home after a very long absence. Derek's kisses are soft but firm at the same time. It's tender but passionate at the same time. Just perfect.

Derek's hands slide into Stiles' back to squeeze a little closer to him, while Stiles' hands slide under Derek's shirt. When Derek pushes his head into Stiles' neck and puts a series of kisses on it, Stiles starts giggling.

Derek immediately picks up his lips again and their kiss soon becomes much less soft. Stiles is totally impatient. He moans as soon as Derek's tongue caresses his own and bites his lower lip when Derek's kissing his jaw.

Stiles lifts up Derek's shirt and takes it off before looking at him unscrupulously. 

''I've been dreaming of doing this ever since I saw you in my superman boxer.''

Derek kisses him them laughs and then backs off.

''I'm sorry. It's Scott. He's pouting 'cause I took the superman boxer."

''Scott, get your ears out of this room!'' Stiles yells out before he gets back in Derek's mouth.

All he wants to do is get as close to Derek as he can. He takes off his shirt, and when Derek's chest touches his, it's like he's on fire from the inside. He knows his eyes are green, but he doesn't care. He could spend his life in this bed kissing Derek. 

And yet he's the first one to jump out of bed when an inhuman scream comes from outside. He doesn't take the time to get dressed or question Derek.

Because he knows whose scream it is. 


	14. Alpha

Aiden is standing there, completely panicked and raises his hands in the air as if to signal that he had nothing to do with it. And Lydia's standing at the top of the stairs screaming towards town. 

She's screaming like she's terrified and Stiles' heart is clenching. 

He's about to take her in his arms, but Lydia stops at the same time and turns around, looking at them completely lost and she takes a step back. Stiles catches her before she falls down the stairs but she pushes him away as if she was afraid of him before she steps back.

''Lydia, it's okay'' Stiles says softly.

Lydia shakes her head. 

''Nothing's gonna be okay. They're coming."

"Who? Who's coming, Lydia?" Derek asks, grabbing her arm.

Lydia looks at him wide-eyed and blinks her eyes before answering.

"I don't know."

Stiles isn't missing Derek's decomposing face. The whole pack is now out on the porch watching Lydia looking really lost.

''What happened?'' asks Jackson as he hugs Lydia, forcing Derek to let go of her arm.

"I don't know."

Jackson turns to Aiden, frowning.

"She fell asleep on the couch. I went into the kitchen with Boyd to help him clean up. And we were just sitting there listening to Stiles' beautiful statement. You totally fell down, man."

"Hey, that was private." Stiles complains.

"Yeah." Aiden confirms "Well, unless you think you have the power to stop us from listening, you'll have to remember that in a house full of werewolves, the walls have ears."

"Come back to Lydia!" Jackson gets angry.

''Well, that's it. I left her on the couch, and I came out when I heard him yell. And then you guys came in."

"What the hell?" Isaac asks.

Derek looks at Lydia, who seems totally lost.

"Did a werewolf bite you, Lydia?"

Lydia shakes her head to the negative and Derek thinks again.

''Didn't you get scratched?''

Lydia shakes her head as if she's shaking her head and then violently dislodges from Jackson's arms.

''Jackson! What the hell did you do to me?"

Jackson looked at her with wide-eyed eyes and shook his head.

"I have nothing"

''Yes, you did'' cuts it off. ''You were sleeping at my place. When I woke up, You were gone, but there was blood on my sheets. Except I didn't have any wounds. You told me it wasn't you and you didn't have any wounds either.''

Stiles closes his eyes, pushing the anger inside of him. 

''You hurt Lydia!'' finally pisses off Stiles ''you stupid lizard. What the hell did you do to her?"

Jackson gets pushed down the stairs and he doesn't even try to get up. Derek puts his hand on Stiles' shoulder and Stiles closes his eyes again.

''It's okay, Stiles. Lydia's a banshee. She's another possible werewolf mutation. Well, not exactly a mutation. It's more of a bite reaction. Or a scratch. Because unlike Jackson, Lydia will never be able to turn into a werewolf and she'll always be able to get through the mountain ash fences. Banshees are messengers of death."

Stiles jumps up and tries to get close to Lydia, but she takes a step back.

''Lydia, you're still you.I promise you gonna be okay."

And she looks at him with regret and shrugs her shoulders.

''It's not a bad thing'' Derek says softly ''Banshees scream when they're in front of a corpse or when death is near. You said something about someone coming. Do you remember who it was? Or who he was coming for?"

Lydia shakes her head and wipes the tears from her cheeks.

''I don't remember. I'm sorry. I don't want that. I don't want to end up like her."

Lydia comes running into the house, followed by Allison and Erica.

Ethan helps Jackson up and they're walking up the stairs hand in hand.

''Sorry, Jackson,'' says Stiles. ''I know you don't remember what you did when you were a kanima. I'm having a little trouble controlling my emotions. I don't think the Chinese thought of that when they gave powers like that to a kid with hyperactivity."

Jackson puts his hand on Stiles' shoulder and smiles.

''Don't worry about it. If the roles had been reversed, I probably would've sent you flying farther. But I swear to you, I have no memory of ever hurting Lydia."

Stiles is the first to enter the living room, and he reaches across the door to keep the others out.

''Wait a minute. Watch this."

The M&M package on the table have been emptied all over the floor. But it's not just emptied. The red M&M's are arranged to form a drawing. 

"Is that a fish?" Jackson asks, pushing Stiles aside.

Stiles looks up at the sky before looking at Jackson.

"No, silly, that's the Greek symbol for Alpha."

All the boys turn to Derek as Stiles grabs his hand.

''I think we know who she saw die.'' Derek finally says ''Maybe your dad's setting me up after all.''

Stiles lets go of Derek's hand with a sigh and hits him in the chest with a frown.

''It's not funny, Derek. We just saved our asses and we're gonna have to do it again!"

"That's right, tragic loves" Scott laughs as he sneaks in to pick up the M&M's before he eats them. 

"Hey, share" complains Jackson before squatting down to pick up as many as he can, tossing one to Ethan as he laughs.

"They're your babies!" Stiles turns to Derek "Good thing I'm here to keep you safe, because you'd be in trouble with them!"

Derek rolls his eyes and sighs.

"You're not my bodyguard, Stiles."

Stiles looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

"No? Then what am I?"

''I think boyfriend's a pretty appropriate word considering what you were doing before Lydia cut you off'' Scott says, ''and I'll have you know that unlike Derek who bothered to put a shirt on, you're half-naked, Stiles.''

Stiles sends a black look to his best friend.

''I wasn't asking you, Scott. So there's no privacy in this house?"

"None." Derek confirms with a smile, "but I agree with Scott for once.'' Derek moves closer so he can whisper in his ear. ''And yes, you should get dressed. Seeing you like this reminds me of what we were doing and it's too entertaining for me to think properly about what's happening now."

Stiles looks up and shakes his head to point out Derek's nonsense before looking at him with a sly smile.

''Yeah, you was pretty entertaining too. Unfortunately for you, I've had more entertaining today. Being stabbed at the stake, that was pretty intense."

Stiles leaves the living room like a winner, and two second later, Derek's got him pinned up against the hallway wall. And if his heart's beating faster, it's probably not fear this time. And Stiles wonders how far werewolves can feel emotions because he certainly doesn't want anyone in the living room to feel his excitement.

"I get you back to the stake anytime, baby."

Stiles chuckles with a raised eyebrow.

''I have no doubt in my mind. Admit you'd love to dagger me. It's got more class than trying to rip my head off."

"Stop talking in code and get laid!" Boyd yells from the kitchen.

Derek immediately drops Stiles and bursts out laughing. And to hear Derek laughing uncontrollably would almost be worth not responding to his werewolves with their ears hanging out. Almost.

''It wasn't a coded message.'' Stiles yells back.

But it's too late, Stiles hears the whole pack laughing, even the girls in the downstairs bedroom, and he sulks his way up the stairs.

''You're all just horrible babies! Go to bed, and tomorrow, make breakfast in bed for your sweet mommy."

Stiles thoughtlessly walks into the only room he knows and crashes across the bed. The important thing is, he shouldn't be thinking. He just needs to sleep. Don't think about your idiot friends. Don't think Lydia saw Derek die. Too late...

The bedroom door opens and closes slowly, but Stiles doesn't even turn his head to look.

''Well? Offended?"

This time he turns to Derek and smiles.

"You don't know me very well. Are you coming to get me and take me back to the stake?"

Derek smiles and shakes his head, but then he gets closer to the bed and takes off his shoes.

''I do as you say, I'm going to bed. This is my room, Stiles."

Stiles jumps out of bed and looks around. It's so impersonal. So... so Derek.

"This was my room when I was a kid."

Derek sits on the bed, grabs Stiles' hand and pulls him over to sit next to him.

''I've always had this room. My parents slept downstairs. It's Scott's room now. Across the hall, it used to be Laura's room. It's gonna be Boyd and Isaac's room when they come here. Cause Isaac wants to keep living with you 'cause you're the best little brother and"

Stiles puts his index finger over Derek's mouth to shut him up and turns to the door, like Isaac's behind it.

''I want older than you, Isaac. But I love living with you, too. Of course you're staying with me, bro."

A "thank you" echoes down the hall and Stiles turns to Derek, smiles and removes his index finger.

''So, as I was saying... Next door is now Jackson's room. And across the hall is Aiden's. Ethan didn't want to choose, so he got a bed in Aiden's room."

''But I'm sure he'd rather sleep with his lizard,'' continues Stiles.

He's not missing the smothered swear word from the hallway.

"On our side of the hall is Cora's room, right across the hall from mine. It's now the girls' room. Cora would kill if she saw the way Lydia's been giving her makeover. It's all pink and glitter and rhinestones, just what my sister hated. But it's so nice to see the house come alive again."

"What about me?" Stiles asks, raising an eyebrow, and with a big smile "Where's my room? It's not fair. I wasn't here to choose. Absentees are always wrong."

Derek takes a crap-eating smile and Stiles comes to regret his stupid question.

''Oh, don't worry about it. There's an unused room right across the hall from the stairwell. You're gonna love it. Strangely, no one wanted to take it."

Stiles looks up to the sky.

"Peter's room?"

"Exactly!" Derek laughs, "but if you're scared to go to sleep there, you can stay here."

Stiles leaps out of bed and looks up at Derek defiantly.

"Scared, no."

He takes two steps to the door before he turns around.

"But neither does envy."

And he darts down the bed, bouncing off the mattress in Derek's exasperated look.

''What? You did the same thing at my house when you were a wolf. Not to mention when you defended your territory to Scott. Do you think I didn't notice you prancing around on my bed, you big black wolf? And''

Derek leans over and kisses him. And even though Stiles knows it's to shut him up, he doesn't care. He takes off the shirt that Derek had put back on. He could've kept kissing him all night if he hadn't yawned between kisses.

''You need some sleep, Stiles. You're exhausted. Come on."

Derek gently squeezes him and gently kisses him on the neck.

"Are you scared?" Stiles asks him softly.

Derek puts another kiss on his neck.

''From your father? Definitely. I'm sure he'll get wolfsbane."

Stiles makes a frustrated whimper.

"I was talking about the messenger of death pointing at you."

Derek's squeezing him a little tighter.

"Maybe it's related... but no, I'm not afraid."

''Oh'' laughed Stiles. ''I forgot, Mr Derek Hale is never afraid.''

Derek shakes his head and sighs.

"Oh yes, I got it. I'm so afraid something's gonna happen to you."

Stiles turns around, looks at him, and smiles.

"You know I'd do anything to save you, but you're afraid I'll do it and something will happen to me.

"Exactly. That's why I want you to promise me that you won't do it. Because if we can't save you this time, I can never forgive myself for being the reason you died."

Stiles turns around again and curls up to line up his back against Derek's chest.

"I'm not worried. Even though I'm almost dead, the pack will save me. Again. I save you, the pack saves me. Our new routine."

"What if the pack gets hurt, Stiles? I couldn't save you. It worked because everyone was there. But what if they're not?"

Stiles closes his eyes, preferring not to think about it. He's almost asleep when he hears Derek whisper.

"You can't sacrifice yourself for me every time."

And now he knows he's gonna have to talk to Scott. In private


	15. Omega

It's a knock on the door that wakes him up with a start.

"Are you dressed?"

Stiles grunts and he hears Derek mumbling a "what do you want?" next to him. And he smiles. Waking up next to Derek, it's just unbelievable. A few weeks ago, Stiles would have thought it unthinkable, and yet if he turns slightly to the right, he can look at Derek with his face buried in his pillow and he can't resist tracing the outline of his tattoo.

"Let's take that as a yes."

Stiles stands up when he hears Lydia's voice. And Derek does the same thing, rubbing his eyes together while Lydia was the first to enter their room.

''I wanted to apologize for pushing you away yesterday. So..."

She shifts and lets in Isaac and Boyd, who bring in two trays full of food.

''Come on, Mom,'' laughs Boyd ''get up! See, your kids are listening to you.''

Stiles looks at Jackson who's in the doorway.

"What are you bringing us?"

"Me? I'm just here for eye candy."

Stiles looks down at his bare chest and Jackson bursts out laughing.

"Not you, silly. Him. Danny's been talking about it for weeks after he came to your house... And, yeah, I..."

Derek throws his pillow at Jackson, and in turn, Stiles bursts out laughing while Ethan comes and hits the back of Jackson's head as he follows him down the hallway grumbling.

''What? I'm discovering a whole new world because of you, let me enjoy it. Seeing isn't cheating. But you're pretty amazing, too, honey."

Derek makes an exasperated whimper as Lydia pushes Isaac and Boyd out of the room, closes the door, and sits in the chair next to Stiles.

"I really wanted to apologize for yesterday."

Stiles doesn't have time to open his mouth for Derek to cut him.

"It's okay, Lydia, don't worry."

Lydia's shaking her head.

''I got scared. Cause I think my grandmother was one of them. When I was a little girl, I was really, really close with her and her friend, Maddy. When Maddy died in a regatta accident, my grandmother kept saying that she heard her during the crash. Except it was impossible, they were hundreds of miles apart. Her friends said she screamed uncontrollably. And a few years later, my mother had her committed to a mental hospital because she heard voices."

''Banshees have different communication networks than we do.'' Derek says softly ''They can hear things that no one else can ever hear.''

Lydia nods her head.

"I don't want to go crazy."

Stiles gets out of bed and gives her a hug.

''Until yesterday, we didn't even know what I was. I'm telling you, I almost went crazy. Especially after throwing Scott down the hallway at my house and not being able to control myself. I was really afraid of what I was becoming. But look, I'm fine. The whole pack is fine. Except maybe Jackson's getting yelled at by Ethan, which I hope is."

Derek smiles and shakes his head to let him know that's not what's going on.

''Oh, Ethan, have some dignity. I hope you at least give him a angry face. And tell him to stop looking at what's mine. Anyway... um... We're fine. You're part of the pack. Welcome home."

Lydia smiles, stands up, and hugs Stiles before thanking him and leaving them both. Stiles knocks over half of his tray as he settles into his place on the bed, but luckily Derek grabs Stiles' coffee before the drama unfolds. Like he was expecting it to happen. 

Derek hands him his cup and kisses him before he frowns.

"You know you don't own me, Stiles."

Stiles looks up at the sky and then looks up at him and smiles with his green eyes. Derek's eyes immediately become vermilion.

''You know what I meant.''

He gently caresses Derek's cheek, looking into Derek's eyes before he bends over to kiss him.

"I missed your eyes so much.''

Derek smiles and his eyes go back to normal.

''OK'' concluded Stiles as he drank his coffee. ''From now on, you're the only one who makes coffee here. Yours is much better. Will you tell me one day what you put in it?"

Derek shakes his head and raises his eyebrows and Stiles grabs his marmalade bun.

''Okay. You shower first, I'm gonna go downstairs and check on the big babies and then I'll get ready. How does that sound?"

Derek's staring at him, like he's trying to figure something out.

''It would sound good if your heart wasn't going so fast. Are you sure you're okay?"

Stiles leans in to kiss him, hoping to distract Derek from his heartbeat.

''I'm allowed to be nervous, right? My dad's gonna ask us a million questions. And I hope none of them are too embarrassing. And a messenger of death practically pointed at you. Sorry if I'm a little nervous."

Derek's pushing the trays and holding it tight. 

"That sounds good, then."

Stiles watches Derek get up and grab his clothes before he leaves the room. He waits two minutes before jumping out of bed, getting dressed in a hurry and running to Scott's room, who of course is still asleep. 

He jostles him without talking and signals him to follow him. They both go out the back door into the woods.

''Can you hear the house there?''

Scott looks at him worried, concentrates and shakes his head.

''No, I can't hear anything at all."

Stiles pulls him by the arm and pushes him further into the woods. Scott walks another ten minutes without saying anything, then finally stops.

''I said I can't hear anything, Stiles.''

Stiles turns to his best friend and stops.

"Derek's stronger than you. He can probably hear better. Honestly, I hope we're far enough away. Otherwise we'll find out soon enough, unfortunately."

Scott takes a big smile and sits on a rock.

''Oh... so we're trying to hide things, huh? It's like, one day you're official and you already want to lie to him. It's promising."

''Exactly,'' confirms Stiles ''I want you to tell me if I can control my heart so I can lie without being detected. I want to be able to lie to Derek and the pack without them noticing. And I know that you're the only one who's gonna be willing to help me."

Scott gets up but keeps smiling.

''Clearly, only I can help you with that. It's no problem. Lie to me."

Stiles stands in front of Scott and thinks.

''You look really handsome with your hair down."

Scott nods his head and laughs.

''Okay. Now lie, but try to control your heartbeat."

Stiles puts his hand on his wrist to feel his heartbeat and closes his eyes to concentrate. And he spends the next ten minutes telling his best friend a ton of lies.

''When we were kids and you couldn't find your lucky red sweater. Actually, I was the one who borrowed it and put a hole in it. So I threw it in the trash."

Stiles immediately noticed Scott's change in mood, and he immediately stood in front of Stiles.

''Damn it, Stiles, I was sure it was you."

Stiles takes a big smile.

''No, it wasn't me. Did I do it?"

Scott squints with suspicion.

"I swear to God, I don't know what happened to your red sweater."

"What happened to my remote control car?"

Stiles looks him in the eye and says : "It wasn't me either."

Scott shrugs his shoulders.

"I'll never know who broke it."

''I did it!'' Stiles rejoices. ''Okay. Sorry, it was me. I tried to play with it, and she fell down the stairs. I'm sorry. Come on, let's go home."

He's looking at Scott, who's not moving and clearly, Scott's pouting.

''Come on, Scott, I was nine years old. I'll buy you another one to thank you for helping me this morning. I know you're the only one who I could count on for that."

Scott narrows the space between them and nods.

''I owe you that much, Stiles. Without you, I'd be an Omega. And they're more easily killed by hunters or other packs, so I should be thanking you for helping me become part of the pack."

Scott starts heading back to the house, but Stiles grabs his arm to stop him.

''Hold on. Wait. Why would you be an omega? Why would you say that?''

Scott shrugs his shoulders as if he doesn't really know.

''It's the true. I have no particular attachment to Derek even though he's the Alpha. He doesn't have control over me the way an Alpha should. And I know that everybody knows that. If it wasn't for you, I would've turned my back on the pack. I know it, Derek knows it. And you know it, too. You always have. And that's exactly why you asked me for help and not the other guys. But it's okay, Stiles. I don't want to lose you, so thanks to you, I'm gonna find my place in your pack, and I'm okay with that. And I"

Scott stops in the middle of his sentence and his whole body tightens as Lydia's scream is so loud that the two boys feel as if she is standing next to them. 

Scott runs away so fast that Stiles loses sight of him right away. And once again, he regrets not being able to get some physical improvement. When he gets to the front of the house, there's no noise. It's way too quiet for a house with so many people. He hurriedly opens the door and goes straight into the living room.

The whole pack is there, standing in a corner while Derek is facing them and seems completely crazy. 

Stiles notices the triskel drawn on the wall. But it's not at all like Derek's. This one has square edges. The Derek one looks soft and smooth. This one looks hard and sharp. And Stiles can't stop looking at the word written in the center: Cora.

Derek looks at the drawing again and seems even crazier. It looks like he could kill anyone.

"Der"

''She's my sister." Derek cut him ''They have my sister. Lydia's scream wasn't for me yesterday. It was for them. Alphas. The alpha pack's coming for me, that's their sign. And they've got Cora as bait. I must save her.''

Stiles reaches out to Derek to hug him, but Derek throws it back just as quickly.

''I'm sorry, Stiles, I have to do this alone. It's my sister.''

Stiles comes closer again, feeling his eyes turning green in spite of himself.

''We're your pack, Derek. You don't have to do this alone.''

Derek grabs his forearms so hard to keep it from moving forward and Stiles knows he's gonna get marks.

''That's what they want, Stiles. They're gonna want me to be part of their pack. Deucalion, their leader would be thrilled to have a real Alpha. And in order to be part of their pack, I have to kill mine. And even if I refuse to do that, they could force me to do it by impaling you one by one on my claws. So I have to find them, alone. You must go as far away as you can so that I am unable to harm you."

Derek turns to Scott and pushes Stiles towards him.

''Everybody go away. All of you, go now. Scott, take him away. Don't let him lead you. If you can resist me, you can resist him too."

Derek moans and then walks over to Stiles and gives him a hug.

''I'm sorry. Promise me you won't come. Promise me you'll leave. Please, I need to know you're safe away from me."

Stiles looks him in the eye as he steps away from his arms.

"I promise, Derek."


	16. Beta

Stiles passes the town sign wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. He never thought he could drive his car again. But she was waiting for him, quietly hidden under a tarp. Stiles rubs his forehead, he still can't believe it. Derek had it fixed. And even though it's a capricious car, scotch-taped and has no financial value, he got it fixed.

He meets Scott's eyes, sitting next to him, while Isaac puts his hand on his shoulder. He puts on his blinker and parks in a vacant lot. Jackson's car pulls up right next to him, followed by Lydia's car. 

Stiles gets out of the car and looks at everyone in the pack. They all look terrible.

''Okay. So what do we do?" Jackson asks, "We're not really gonna go and leave him alone."

Stiles looks at him in amazement and then gets even more amazed when he realizes that everyone seems to be waiting for him to answer.

"Aren't you going to do what your Alpha asks you to do?"

Isaac shakes his head first.

''Our allegiance has a limit, Stiles. We wouldn't stand for knowing he died alone while we fled. Because if he refuses to get into the Alpha pack, I'm sure they'll kill him lest he get stronger than them. And we'll belong to one of them who will kill us. We must save our pack."

Stiles is nodding his head. Isaac's absolutely right: if the Alphas kill Derek, they're all dead.

''So? What do we do, Mommy?" Aiden asks, smiling.

Stiles looks around like he's gonna find the answer. And finally, the thought occurs to him as he looks at Lydia.

"Lydia, can we go to the lake house?"

Lydia immediately signals to him that it's okay. 

''Great,'' confirms Stiles. ''She's far enough away so Derek can't sense our presence, but close enough to intervene when we need him to. Because I'll know when he's in danger. Just like I saw it with Peter. Then we go and wait."

They all get back in the cars, and this time Lydia's leading the parade. 

"What if you don't see him this time?" Scott asks, "What if now that you've mastered your powers, it's different?"

Stiles looks at him confidently.

''It's gonna work, don't worry. I'll find out where he is and we'll help him."

Scott nods his head and then smiles.

''You know that if everything goes the way you want it to, he's gonna kill you for lying to him.''

Stiles nods shamefully. He hates lying. He hates that some people say that sometimes a lie is better than the truth. But he didn't have a choice.

''Yeah. We're already gonna save his ass, and then I'm gonna make it up to him."

Isaac bursts out laughing while Scott grinds, and Stiles moans.

''It was totally unsexual, guys! You guys are really obsessed."

They arrive at the lake house in less than 10 minutes and Stiles looks up when Lydia pulls the keys out of a flowerpot. They all settle into the living room and try to come up with some sort of plan. Thanks to the fake guidance counsellor, Stiles knows that there are four Alphas in the pack. But they have no idea what they're capable of or where or when the fight is gonna take place.

By the time the clock strikes 11:00, Stiles can't keep up. He feels like he's suffocating in the living room. Each member of the pack does their best to come up with a plan in the face of so little knowledge of the upcoming battle, but the more they talk, the more Stiles realizes that Derek is right. If the pack ends up with the Alphas and they force Derek to kill them, the whole thing will have been for nothing. 

He really needs to get some air. He's going out and walking to the lake. He grabs a couple of pebbles and he throws them to ricochet before he sits on the edge of the pontoon. He immediately feels his eyes turn green and in the reflection of the water, he sees Derek being pierced by a sword. And the vision is horrible. Stiles doesn't recognize where they are. He can only make out a symbol, drawn on the ground where Derek's blood is flowing. 

He runs into the house and draws the symbol before he shows it to his friends.

''There it is. I've seen it. He had a sword through him. We have to find it."

Everybody looks at the picture, and Boyd shouts the first.

''Wait a minute, that's the Beacon Hills National Bank logo.''

''It closed because of a robbery'' Erica points out. 

"He's there!" confirms Stiles before rushing to the lobby to get the keys to all three cars. 

''Wait'' yells Scott as he catches up to him, ''we have to come up with a plan. We can't just rush headlong into this, we all need to know what we're doing."

"I've got the plan" says Stiles as he faces them, "you stay safe, I'm saving Derek."

Stiles takes his green eyes and forces the pack to stay put. He backs up to the pond and throws in the keys to Lydia's car and Jackson's car. He sees that Scott is trying to fight back even harder and steps up his efforts to force him to obey.

''I'm sorry. I want you to stay alive."

''But who's going to save you if you get hurt, Stiles? We have to be with you."

Stiles shakes his head as he heads towards his car.

''You won't save me if the Alpha pack kills you. That's what can happen if you come in. I can't take that risk. A mother will always sacrifice herself for her children."

Scott starts running towards him and Stiles jumps in his car and drives away, accelerating as fast as he can, without looking in the rearview mirror. He can't bear to see the angry and worried face of his best friend. 

He drives as fast as he can to the bank. When he saw Peter throw Derek through the door, he arrived just as it was happening. Maybe if he goes fast enough, he'll get there before the sword hits Derek. 

But, no. When he gets to the bank lobby and spots the four werewolves around Derek, who's on his knees. He's already carrying a lot of battle scars, and a long-haired woman is holding the sword that's piercing him all the way through. Derek's blood immediately spreads to the bank logo drawn on the floor. 

A girl screams and rushes towards the Alphas as her eyes turn yellow. And Stiles knows that beta is Cora. But he doesn't have time to react when a hand grabs him by the neck and lifts him off the ground. 

"Who the hell are you?"

The older man walks up to him and waves to the other one to put him down. And Stiles realizes that he's the famous leader: Deucalion.

''Stiles'' groans Derek. 

The barefoot, clawed woman kicks him in the face and Derek falls to the ground, but she won't let go of the sword handle. Worse still, she turns the sword slightly, causing a heart-rending scream. A blond man totally immobilizes Cora and ties her against a post.

"You're not a wolf" remarked the leader, sniffing "I don't need to be able to see to know."

Stiles looks at him in amazement.

''Are you blind? Is that even possible? A blind werewolf? I thought your senses were overdeveloped? Were you blind before? And when you take your red eyes, can you see?"

The man laughed out loud. A mean laugh, but it's not at all scary to Stiles.

''I don't know who you are, but you're a hell of a kid. You've got guts. I like that. I went blind when I was already an Alpha. It was a hunter. Gerard Argent."

Deucalion says that name with a grin and it makes Stiles smile.

''You'll be happy to know that my father killed him.''

Deucalion seems surprised and nods gently as if to absorb the information.

''One of my betas thought I was no longer strong enough to be the Apha. But you're right, I'm not blind when I have my wolf eyes. I killed my whole pack. And I've gotten so much stronger. That's why we do this. By killing our pack, we take all its strength."

''I want to do that.'' Stiles says, ''I want to be a werewolf and I want to kill Derek to become an Alpha. I'd kill his pack to get stronger. They trust me, and I'd approach them without a problem. Your former emissary, Morell, has told me a lot about you and I want to join your pack. I only got close to Derek so I could join his pack so I could do this."

Deucalion takes one step closer and puts his hand on Stiles' shoulder before turning to Derek who's trying to straighten up.

''Can you hear that, Derek? Of course you hear that. His heartbeat. He's telling the truth. And such a beautiful truth. You're having a really hard time choosing your partners. One of them killed most of your family, and now this one's gonna kill you. He won't be a real Alpha, but by killing you he'll get all your strength back, and he'll be even stronger once he's killed your precious pack."

The man behind Stiles moves to stand next to Deucalion while the blond guy who tied Cora up joins them. 

"Who are you?"

Stiles looks at him with a big smile.

''Stiles. Nice to meet you. So, we have an agreement?"

Stiles looks at the woman who's still holding the sword in Derek and points at her.

''She. I want her to be the one to turn me. I don't want to sound sexist, but after playing with him, I really want to have a woman's teeth on me."

Deucalion nods his head and the woman finally drops the sword. She takes two steps in their direction and Stiles' eyes turn green immediately as he sends the four werewolves against the back wall.

''You're a bunch of bastards.''

He immediately moves towards Derek and takes out the sword in one swipe before he drops it to the ground. Derek lets out an inhuman scream before he collapses to the ground.

"I'm sorry, baby.''

First to get up is Deucalion. And Stiles knew that. He looks at him and lifts him off the floor.

''What the hell are you?'' gets the man angry, moving around.

''I'm angry. Totally angry. You don't touch what belongs to me. And that's my half."

He sees the woman standing up and running towards him. He drops the leader and focuses on her, sending her flying against the back wall again. 

''You're not even a wolf'' grunts Deucalion as he takes up a fighting position.

''I'm a Taiji and nothing can stop me. Either you accept your defeat and go off on your own, or you're dead."

The man who held the back of Stiles' neck earlier starts laughing and Stiles looks at him. That's when he hears them. He hears his heartbeat. He looks at the man and he falls to the ground. The woman starts screaming "Ennis" as she walks towards him before she changes direction to jump on Stiles. 

She doesn't have time to touch him before his lifeless body falls to the ground. Deucalion looks Stiles in the eye and Stiles understands that he will never stop fighting. 

He focuses all his thoughts on Deucalion's heartbeat echoing in his head, just like he did with the other two werewolves, and Deucalion falls to the ground as he was heading towards Stiles screaming. 

Stiles looks at the blond guy and shows him Cora.

"Untie her."

The man does and Cora walks across the bank lobby to meet her brother.

''You can go tell everyone no one better touch the Hale pack. Be smarter than those three. Save yourself and your life. Make something out of it."  
  
The man runs away and Stiles runs to Derek, but he's stopped in his tracks by Cora, who's got his yellow eyes back. And Stiles isn't at all surprised to recognize her as a member of the pack. He wouldn't have imagined it otherwise. 

''Who the fuck are you? What do you want with my brother? You're a what? Why do you have green eyes? How did you do all this?"

Stiles doesn't need superpowers to make her feel scared. She's waving her arms around, but her mean-spirited look doesn't leave Stiles. Stiles doesn't want to force her to do what she says when they first meet, so he tell the truth.

''I'm your brother's boyfriend. And his Taiji, it's like a kind of soul mate. That's where I get my green eyes and my powers from. I was forced to lie earlier, I couldn't use my powers as long as the other crazy woman was holding the sword, it would hurt Derek even more. Now that I've saved both your asses, I wish I could go heal him, 'cause the Alphas really didn't miss him."

Cora moves to the right to let him pass, not without a look of suspicion on her face.

Stiles immediately squats down next to Derek, pulls him onto his thighs and wraps his arms around him. He feels his tingle become a burn, but this time he doesn't scream. This time he's not hurt so he doesn't pass out.

Derek stands up and looks around. The bank door opens with a loud crash, revealing a pack of very angry werewolves. And Stiles wonders who's angrier.

''Stiles, don't ever do that again.''

Ok. It's definitely Scott. Stiles helps Derek up and slides in slightly behind him. There's no better protection than his boyfriend- werewolf-alpha.

"I'm gonna rip your head off."

OK...Jackson's also very angry. Cora's standing in front of Stiles, ready to fight, while Derek's holding her by the arm.

''Cora, this is the pack. Stiles' friends. And mine. Pack, this is my little sister, Cora."

A smile fills the faces of every member, but it lasts less than a minute, and then the whole pack loses its smile again as they watch Stiles, still half-hiding behind Derek and Cora.

And then there's a long flood of screaming, all directed at Stiles: "We had to walk here." "I don't have a spare set of keys to my car. ''I didn't teach you to lie so you could lie to me.'' "You made us miss out on the best part of the action!" "Do you realize how scared we were for you?" "Why did you lie to us?" "How could you leave us behind like that?" "We all hate you."

Stiles raises his hands in front of him as a sign of peace, but he hides behind Derek and his sister.

''I'm sorry, OK. By dint of calling me mummy, I've been trying to protect you. But look at this, the bad guys are dead, Cora's safe, Derek's fine. The whole pack's OK, and everyone loves each other."

Derek moves to join the pack facing Stiles, and he looks just as angry as they do.

''I hate you too." Derek says with his arms folded across his chest. ''You lied to me when you looked me in the eye!''

Stiles gives him an exasperated look.

''Thank you, Stiles, for saving me and my sister. I hope you didn't get too tired of using your powers like that. As a thank you, I'm going to make you some great coffee. Maybe I'll even kiss you, because you're so great."

Derek's rolling his eyes and steps forward to kiss him gently holding his face before moving back and taking him angry look.

''Thanks for saving me and Cora. You're gonna have to tell me how you did it. But... you lied to me! And I hate it."

"It was huge!" says Cora, "He looked at them and they fell to the ground. Your boyfriend is a powerful weapon of war, Derek! You picked the best bodyguard."

Derek's waving at his sister to shut up, and it just makes her laugh.

Stiles puts his hands on the shoulders of Derek, trying not to pay attention to the angry breathing of the other pack members.

''I'm sorry for having to lie to you. But do you want to hear the truth now?"

Derek seems hesitant, but nods his head.

''My dad's gonna kill us. He's gonna kill us both. Because we're 30 minutes late."


	17. Epilogue - The Pack

''Derek! I really need your help."

Stiles looks at her frowning and shaking his head.

''I can't believe it. Why would you do this to me?"

And, of course, seconds later, Derek comes into the kitchen, sighing.

"What, again?"

"Control your boyfriend, or I'm gonna rip his head off." Cora says.

And Derek turns to Stiles, frowning.

"Stiles, you promised not to touch anything."

"I didn't touch anything," Stiles says, raising his hands in front of him. 

Derek immediately slams him up against the kitchen wall and kisses him.

''You smell like chocolate, Stiles. And even though your chocolate kisses are delicious, it means you're lying. Oh, Stiles!"

Stiles rolls his eyes and laughs.

''Okay. Maybe I dipped a finger in the bowl while Cora turned her back."

''You've eaten it at least three times. Get him out of my kitchen!" Cora orders.

"It's my kitchen, too" Stiles complains as Derek pulls him by the arm into the living room.

Stiles looks at the picture frame Derek just hung. For once, it's just the two of them in the picture. In every other picture in the living room, they're with their pack. And they're all together, gathered in different places: by the lake, hiking, visiting Scott's campus in New York or around the pool, at Jackson and Ethan's house. But Stiles' favorite is the one in the middle of the wall: they're all here in the living room, sitting on the couches and laughing. His dad took that picture without telling them, and it's just perfect.

''Stiles, leave her alone. You promised to be nice to her today."

Stiles slumps down on the couch and sighs.

''It's my birthday, I'm the one to be nice to. And I'm always nice to Cora, she's my favourite sister and she knows it."

"I love you too," Cora yells from the kitchen, "but if you eat it all now, I won't have anything left to serve when they come."

''I smell chocolate all over the house and I'm not allowed to taste it, and it's still not fair.'' Stiles complains, making puppy dog eyes.

Derek walks around the couch to get behind Stiles and bends over so he can whisper in his ear.

''Your scent is all over this house, and I'm not allowed to taste you either.''

Stiles leans back to look at him with a smile on his face.

''Who says you're not allowed? It's not me. And I think that's what you did this morning, right? You know I love birthday blowjobs and it was a pretty good way to wake me up in a good mood and I don't say no if you"

''Oh, I didn't miss it at all ! ''

Stiles rushes into the arms of his best friend.

"Scott! Four months not coming to see us is just too much!"

Scott nods and steps back to say hi to Derek while Stiles hugs Allison.

''I know. But I had to focus on the internship. And by the end of next month, I'd finally graduate and be able to work with Deaton. And come hear you say obscene things more often. I don't know how Cora manages to live with the two of you."

"I don't know either," Cora yells from the kitchen. She joins them in the living room and kisses Scott and Allison ''but you can see why we found a way to soundproof the bedrooms so quickly. We couldn't even sleep. I can't thank Deaton enough for that."

Derek moans while Stiles shakes his head.

"Okay, enough about us." Stiles says, "Put your stuff in your room and we'll"

''The prettiest have gone home!''

Stiles shakes his head and giggles and heads out into the hallway to see Jackson, Ethan, Aiden and Lydia coming. The front door's unlocked and Boyd and Erica are there too. Stiles is so happy to see them all here. It's been way too long. Now that they're all away at school or at work, they can't necessarily all be here at the same time. And this hasn't happened in nine months because there was always one missing.

He hears his father's car pull up and sees Isaac getting out. Stiles gives a shout of joy and comes over and jumps into his arms.

''Happy birthday, brother. I'm so happy to be home."

Stiles smiles. Cause he's totally happy too. Isaac just graduated from the police academy and he's joining the Beacon Hills Police Department next week. Stiles has been working with his dad for over a year now. But for him, it was a lot easier because he already knew the whole theory. He took his exams as a free candidate without going to school and passed with the examiners' congratulations. All he had to do was complete the required internships to validate his degree and return to work at Beacon Hills.   
And now that Isaac is back in Beacon Hills, he's moving back in with him, Derek and Cora. 

''I'm so glad you're moving back in with us. My brother and my sister under the same roof. This family home really does make sense."

His dad's just hugging him and holding him.

''Already 20 years old. I still can't believe it."

''It doesn't make you any younger either, Dad.'' Stiles laughs.

''Okay. I'll see you tomorrow to celebrate at home," reminds his dad, "and don't be late, okay? No excuses! See you tomorrow, Issy."

Isaac comes over to kiss him before he takes his bag out of the car. Stiles knew, he'd told Isaac his father would want to adopt him. Stiles even wondered if Isaac was gonna ask to stay with his dad. He wouldn't say anything to stop it. But he couldn't help but be happy that Isaac wanted to come home and live with them. And to hear the whole pack say "home" is pure bonher.

''OK'' ends up with Stiles saying ''everyoneputs their stuff in their room and meet in five minutes in the living room.''

In less than two seconds, all disappear from the hallway and run up the stairs like kids.

''They're really big babies.'' Stiles remarks as Ethan brags to Jackson about how he was the first one upstairs.

''But you love them.'' remarked Derek.

Stiles nods with a smile and walks into the living room, slipping his hand into his own. And less than two minutes later, each member of the pack is settled in their place, as if they've always lived here.

And a horde of werewolves, a banshee and an ex-hunter in one room, it quickly raises the room temperature. So Stiles takes off his sweater while he continues to chat with Lydia. He barely takes it off when Scott grabs him wrist with an interrogating face.

''I've decided to get myself a present for my birthday,'' Stiles explains.

He raises his wrist to show it to all the eyes that are now focused on him. It represents Derek's triskel, but in the center is the six-pointed star. 

''It's the symbol of our pack'' Stiles explains.

Scott takes a big smile and looks at Derek.

''Too bad yours is already done, you would have been so cute with matching tattoos.''

Derek smiles and turns around and lifts up his shirt. In the middle of his triskel is now a six-pointed star. 

"Oh, my God, you guys are so cute!" Lydia moans.

''You guys are the most lover parents we've ever had!'' Ethan says. 

Stiles doesn't even try to stop them from calling them parents anymore. He doesn't even pick them up when they call Stiles Mommy anymore. But what makes him smile more is that none of them have ever dared to call Derek daddy.

"Okay, babies, that's enough," says Derek. "It's really good to have you all home and"

Stiles feels like it's taking him on. But he doesn't have time to close his eyes that it's too late, Derek stops in the middle of his sentence and he seems lost as his eyes turn red. The whole pack turns to Stiles who closes his eyes to hide his green eyes. 

''Stiles? What are you doing?" worries Derek.

Stiles is concentrating on getting his brown eyes back, but he can feel it's not working. Like every time it's happened to him in the last few months. Eventually he reopens his eyes, creating a surprise for the whole pack.

"Come on, Stiles, stop being so interesting," tries to joke Jackson, "you're already king of the day."

"I can't control him." Stiles says softly, passing his hand through his hair with a nervous gesture.

But Stiles feels his powers are telling him something. He just needs to know what it is. And then suddenly, it's gone. And he doesn't understand. 

Derek comes over and gently hugs him.

''Are you okay? What the hell was that?"

Stiles shrugs. It's not the first time it's happened to him, but he hasn't told Derek about it because he doesn't want to worry him. 

''I don't know. It was... I don't know. Probably the joy of being together."

Stiles doesn't believe it himself, but nothing's gonna ruin his perfect day. 

''Okay. Forget it. So, we could go for a walk and climb to the rocks."

''Stiles, you said this doesn't happen to you anymore. It's happening to you more and more, isn't it?"

Stiles gives Cora a blank stare, almost feels like he's stabbed in the back.

"What?" Derek gets mad. "Has this ever happened to you before? Why does she know and I don't?"

"She, is' your sister. And I have a name," Cora says, and she moves in front of Stiles like she's protecting him. And that makes Stiles smile. Cora always stands up on him own side when they fight with Derek. "And I know because it happened twice before when we were together. But he told me it doesn't happen anymore."

''Stiles? How often does this happen to you?" Scott asks as he walks up to him.

Stiles shrugs his shoulders, but looks down at his shoes. 

''Yeah. It's been happening a little bit lately. I don't know why, though. At first I thought it was because Derek was in danger, but I didn't even think it was. I just don't get it. So I'm just letting it happen and waiting to figure it out."

"And why didn't you tell us about it?" Isaac scolded him.

Stiles gives him a sorry smile and makes a point of not looking at Derek.

''I didn't wanna worry you guys. Besides, I don't mind. My eyes turn green, and I start to feel what I feel when danger surrounds Derek except it stops and I can't see anything. And then Derek's fine, right?"

Derek gives him a killer look before he leaves the living room without a word. 

Stiles immediately follows him, followed of course by the rest of the pack.

''What? What did I say wrong again?"

But Derek doesn't even turn around to answer. He pushes the office door. It was his parents' library. They pushed the book shelves to the sides and a big desk in the middle of the room, full of files from ongoing investigations. And the back wall is a replica of the clue wall that Stiles had in his bedroom. 

Derek picks up the poster at the bottom right, revealing all the post-it notes where Stiles pinned everything about his powers. And Stiles groans as he sees Derek take the fullest post-it. He's written down every moment where his eyes changed color against his will. And stiles knows that there are 8 dates written on it. 

He tried to draw conclusions, see if there was anything in common between the places he was, or the dates, or the phases of the moon. But no, nothing. 

Derek makes an annoying moan, as if the dates confirm what he was already thinking. 

''I can't believe you kept this from me.''

Stiles gives him a sorry smile before he joins him.

''I'm sorry. I didn't mean to waste our time trying to figure out why it's doing this. Maybe we'll never know."

''I know,'' says Derek. ''I'm doing this to you. Every date on that paper, it was me. And it pisses me off so much! You can lie to me openly and I won't notice, and I can't hide anything from you!"

Stiles is suddenly turning pale. So that was it. Derek was hiding something from her. Did his powers warn him that he was with someone else? Is that a way for their bond to warn him before Derek broke it?

He takes two steps back, and Derek notices right away.

''Stiles."

But too late, Stiles doesn't want to hear. He just wants to leave. He'll wish his pack wasn't here after all. He turns around, but Derek grabs his forearm.

"Stiles, what are you doing?"

''I don't want to hear you say it, Derek. I'm not ready."

"Hear me say what?"

"That you're cheating on me? That every time my eyes light up, it's because you're with someone else?"

"What? What the hell?"

Derek looks up at the extremely uncomfortable pack and yells, "Get out of here."

And of course, of course, they all rush to do it.

"Do you really think that about me?"

"Frankly, I don't know. No, I didn't think you were capable of doing that. But you just said that."

''I said I can't hide anything from you, but there's nothing bad behind it.'' Derek takes the post-it, "The first date you signed up for is when I decided I wanted to propose. This one is when I went to pick up the ring with Isaac, Scott and Ethan. This one is when I thought about what the best time would be. Every date you wrote, I wondered what the best way to ask you to marry me would be. And if I'm angry, it's because your Taiji considers me to be in danger every time I've thought about it and frankly I don't know what to think about it''.

Stiles looks at Derek with a big smiles and shrugs his shoulders.

''Maybe he just feels like you're way too nervous, babe. I know you, I'm sure every time you think about it, you imagine I could say no. Every time you think about it, you imagine you're alone again and you imagine if I said no, the pack would break up. Right?"

Derek looks down and Stiles comes over to pat him on the cheek.

''You're putting yourself in danger with thoughts like that, dumbass. It's your insecurities that are lighting me up, warning me that you're not well. Mystery solved."

Stiles shakes his head and smiles.

"Who knew, huh? Mr Derek Hale, the ruthless, one-hearted killer with a marshmallow heart under his shell and the cutest, most caring. You're the most terrifying and the most terrified man I've ever met, and that makes me love you even more."

Stiles sits on the desk and opens up his legs so Derek can squeeze between them. Immediately, he wraps around Derek's waist to get him closer.

''I don't even understand how you could imagine me saying no to you, sourwolf.''

Derek looks him in the eye and smiles.

''Probably for the same reason you thought I might cheat on you, Stiles. But how could an idea like that even cross your mind?"

Stiles smiles as he tightens up.

"Okay, then we're both jerks."

Derek kisses him gently as he pulls a little box out of his pocket.

''So, no surprise there, will you marry me and officially become my half?''

Stiles raises his eyebrows and takes a hesitant pout.

''I don't know, I have to think about it.''

An exasperated moan comes from behind the door and Stiles bursts out laughing as he imagines the whole pack stuck behind. 

''No was never an option, Derek. Of course I want it. And I'm sorry I spoiled your surprise with that"

Stiles' eyes turn green and Derek's eyes respond immediately. Derek kisses him as he passes his the ring he picked out months ago with the boys. 

"We should have soundproofed this room," Stiles whispers.

''Why? Wouldn't you rather they hadn't heard?"

Stiles smiles.

''Oh, yes, I'm happy to share that with them. But I want to get you totally naked and show you what it's like to make love to your fiancé."

''Like you've never done it in the office'' laughs Cora behind the door ''Have fun, let's take a walk. Be ready at 6:00pm sharp!"

At 6:00pm, they're still completely naked, still soaked from the shower they just shared. Stiles is lying on Derek and kissing the tattoo on his back. 

"I love you so much."

Derek turns around so fast, Stiles utters a high-pitched scream, but Derek holds him down tight enough so he doesn't fall out of bed and face him.

''I love you too, Stiles. But we're gonna have to get dressed, they're coming home."

''Get your ass out of bed, sex maniacs! Playtime's over."

Jackson's voice is still annoying, but it still makes Stiles smile. The pack wouldn't be complete without him, and he's bound to admit it. 

"They're home," says Stiles as he gets out of bed to get dressed. 

They go down the stairs hand in hand and join the pack in the living room.

''You stink of satisfaction, Stiles. Well done, Derek, I can't stand it," Erica grunts.

''Sorry. But how can I resist him?"

And as usual when Derek pays a compliment like that, Stiles laughs along with Jackson and Scott. A laugh that means "you got a good look at him?" that Derek completely ignores.

''I'm the one who can't resist. And I don't stink, Erica. I just got out of the shower."

''Okay. And now the chef brings you Stiles' favorite meal. Pizzas!"

They all eat while laughing and discussing the return of Isaac, Scott and Allison... Only Aiden and Lydia will be far away because of their studies. But soon, they'll all be here together. 

When Cora brings in the chocolate mousse, Stiles can hardly wait.

"I've been waiting for this all day, this is gonna be the highlight of my day."

There's complete silence in the living room, and he's rolling his eyes.

''Yeah yeah, for all of us to be together here is great. And the proposal's not bad either. But Cora's chocolate mousse is heaven. Nothing beats it."

He takes his big, teasing smile and leans in on Derek.

''Just kidding, Sourwolf. You're the highlight of my day. Every single day."

"But what a marshmallow!" Boyd laughs as they kiss. 

"If someone had told me you two would be so cute, I never would have believed it," Scott admits.

Of course, the first two to finish are Cora and Stiles. And if Stiles has a chocolate moustache, Derek's happy to erase it. 


End file.
